History

1856 – The New York Young Men’s Republican Union was formed in June of 1856, with its office at the Stuyvesant Institute on 659 Broadway. Abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay is the Union’s first speaker. This organization was the first to inscribe Lincoln’s name on its banner and the first to ratify the Chicago nominations in New York. It organized the first company of “Wide-Awakes” in New York State and published and circulated 3,961,000 pages of campaign documents. The Illustrated Life Of Lincoln and Mr. Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech.

1860 – Abraham Lincoln is invited to speak and introduce himself to the Union in a state that was home to Senator William H. Seward (1801-1872), considered the front-runner for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination. Appearing before an audience of 1,500 at Cooper Union, Lincoln argued that the founding fathers had set the country on an anti-slavery course, contrary to Stephen Douglas and others’ claims in the Democratic Party, who, he maintained, conspired with Southern slaveholders to expand slavery into the territories. Lincoln asked his fellow Republicans to hold firm to their anti-slavery principles: “Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.” Enormously popular with Republicans, the speech was widely circulated in published form. Later this year, abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner addressed the club membership in July, and in August, Congressman and future Union General Robert C. Schenck spoke to the Union.

1861 – The Advisory Board of the Union includes notables such as Horace Greeley, William Cullen Bryan, Hamilton Fish, Hiram Barney, Abijah Mann Jr., George Folsom, William Curtis Noyes, and Richard Cunningham McCormick. Former Union President Benjamin F. Manierre is elected to the New York State Senate.

1862 – The son of New York City Mayor George Opdyke, William Stryker Opdyke, becomes President of the Union.

1864 – Executive Committee member Charles C. Nott concludes his service in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. He was originally appointed as a captain commanding the 176th New York Volunteer Infantry. He eventually achieved the rank of colonel by the war’s end.

1865 – President Abraham Lincoln appoints Executive Committee member Charles C. Nott to a Judge seat on the Court of Claims. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 22, 1865, and received his commission the same day.

1866 – Former Union President Benjamin F. Manierre is elected by the New York State Legislature as a Metropolitan Police Commissioner. President Andrew Johnson nominated former Union President Stewart L. Woodford to award the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers.

1867 – Senator Charles Sumner gives his ‘Are We a Nation?’ address to the Union in November at the Cooper Institute. Former Club President Stewart L. Woodford is elected as Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Republican ticket with Governor Reuben E. Fenton.

1873 – Former Union President Stewart L. Woodford is elected to the United States House of Representatives from New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

1876 – Former Union President Benjamin F. Manierre was selected as Chairman of the Liberal Republican state convention.

1877 – Former Union President Stewart L. Woodford was appointed as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

1879 – The New York Young Men’s Republican Club was formed in September of 1879 to support Alonzo B. Cornell’s gubernatorial campaign. Its first office is established at 185 5th Avenue. The future vice president of this organization, James M. Varnum, was elected to the New York State Assembly. 

1880 – Vice President Chester A. Arthur personally thanked the Club for their work in fighting against voter intimidation in the Presidential Election of 1880. The Club selects 953 Broadway as its office.

1881 – Future Club Recording Secretary Robert Ray Hamilton is elected to the New York State Assembly. On January 18, the New York Young Men’s Republican Club moved its office to 33 East 20th Street.

1882 – On January 23, the New York Young Men’s Republican Club moved its office to 64 Madison Avenue.

1883 – On October 17, the New York Young Men’s Republican Club moved its office to 21 West 27th Street.

1884 – The Club publishes a series of pamphlets attacking the career and policies of President Grover Cleveland. Theodore Roosevelt addresses the Club for their October meeting.

1886 – The Club reached 480 members on its rolls. On March 10, the New York Young Men’s Republican Club opened its first Clubhouse at 32 West 28th Street. On May 18th, 1886, the New York Young Men’s Republican Club formally incorporated the Republican Club of the City of New York. 

1889 – Former Club Vice President James M. Varnum is the Republican candidate for Attorney General of New York State.

1896 – Former Executive Committee member Charles C. Nott received a recess appointment from President Grover Cleveland on November 23, 1896, to the Court of Claims’ Chief Justice seat. Former Club Recording Secretary William M. K. Olcott was appointed New York County District Attorney to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John R. Fellows.

1897 – President William McKinley appointed former Union President Stewart L. Woodford to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain. Spain severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. on April 21, 1898, and Woodford left his post the same day. The United States declared war on Spain on that date by an Act of Congress approved on April 25, 1898.

1899 – New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt appointed former Club Vice President James M. Varnum as the surrogate for New York County.

1902 – Future Club Founder Edward R. Finch is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1903 – Future Club Members George B. Agnew and William W. Wemple are elected to the New York State Assembly.

1904 – Future Club Member Gustave Hartman is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1905 – Future Club Member Martin Saxe was elected to the New York State Senate.

1907 – Future Club Members George B. Agnew and William W. Wemple are elected to the New York State Senate.

1908 – Future Club Founder Lindon Bates Jr. is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1909 – Future Club Founder Lindon Bates Jr. was appointed a member of the General Commission of Water Supply by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr.

1910 – New York County Republican Committee Chairman Herbert Parsons resigned, and future Club Founder Lloyd Carpenter Griscom was offered the office by the political boss and close personal friend Otto Bannard, who had unsuccessfully run for mayor in 1905. Lacking any experience or training, Lloyd Carpenter Griscom accepted the offer, as he described, in “…fear and trembling.” This would mark the first time a Club member or alumnus would hold the office of New York County Republican Committee Chairman. As Chairman, he had to find a suitable candidate for the 1910 New York gubernatorial election and ended up choosing another lawyer and friend, Henry L. Stimson. This caused problems as incumbent President William Howard Taft opposed Stimson, while former President Theodore Roosevelt supported Stimson. Roosevelt ended up personally campaigning for Stimson, who ended up narrowly losing to John Alden Dix. However, the leader of Tammany Hall told Lloyd Carpenter Griscom after the election that if the campaign lasted another week, he would have expected Stimson to win. That same year, future Club Member Stephen Carlton Clark was elected to the New York State Assembly.

1911 – Thirty-two young men came together under the leadership of Benjamin M. Day, along with Philip J. McCook, Lloyd Carpenter Griscom, Frederick Paul Keppel, Henry W. Goddard, Edward R. Finch, Alfred Conkling Coxe Jr., Lindon Bates Jr., Thomas D. Thacher, and Albert S. Bard to establish the New York Young Republican Club on April 27,  after noting the lack of a Republican organization that would appeal to the younger Republicans in New York. They sought a forum for advocating views that might, on occasion, be at variance with those of the party leaders, as expressed in the local assembly district clubs and in the Republican Club of the City of New York, which was originally organized on September 25th, 1879 as the New York Young Men’s Republican Club and would later become the National Republican Club in June of 1919. On November 22, the first constitution and bylaws of the Club were drafted by Henry W. Goddard and Albert S. Bard, and shortly thereafter, the first elections for officers were held. On December 20, the Club held its first gala. Senator William Edgar Borah was the keynote speaker at the gala for the Guest of Honor, the President of the United States, William Howard Taft. Although the founders anticipated the enfranchisement of women by omitting the word ‘Men’s’ from the Club’s name, membership in the Club, for the time being, was exclusively male. The Club’s first president was Philip J. McCook, who was from the ‘Fighting McCooks’ family. Of the thirty-two original founders, twenty-five would serve on the Club’s original Executive Committee. Club Member Francis R. Stoddard Jr. is elected to the New York State Assembly. 

1912 – The Club filed for incorporation on February 8 and was formally incorporated by New York Supreme Court Justice James W. Gerard on February 19, and by November, the Club had already reached 250 members on its rolls. The Club hosts its second annual gala, dubbed the “Governors’ Dinner,” due to Governors Herbert S. Hadley of Missouri, Francis E. McGovern of Wisconsin, and Adolph Olson Eberhart of Minnesota being the guests of honor. Club Founder Lindon Bates Jr. unsuccessfully ran for Congress against John F. Carew from New York’s 17th Congressional District. Club Founder Lloyd Carpenter Griscom would resign as Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee shortly after the 1912 Republican National Convention, which he described as “…the most painful situations I ever knew and led to my ultimate disgust with politics.”

1913 – A year after its incorporation, the Club initiated Republican participation in the campaign, which resulted in the election of John Purroy Mitchel as a fusion Mayor of New York City.

1914 – Club Founder Lindon Bates Jr. again ran unsuccessfully for Congress against John F. Carew from New York’s 17th Congressional District.

1915 –  Club Founder Lindon Bates Jr. boarded the RMS Lusitania, where he was a first-class passenger. He was on deck with Amy Lea Pearl, a friend of his, when the ship was struck. He spent the last moments prior to the ship sinking helping Amy and her husband Warren find their children. He died on the ship.

1917 – The Club went on record to support Women’s suffrage in New York State. The Club maintained 500 members on its rolls. Club Member Schuyler M. Meyer is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1918 – Founding member of the Club Frederick Paul Keppel is appointed Assistant Secretary of War. Club Founder Philip J. McCook was wounded during World War I at the Meuse and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

1919 – Club Member Noel B. Fox is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1920 – The Club took part in the election of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge as President and Vice President of the United States, respectively. Club Member Theodore Roosevelt III was elected to the New York State Assembly from the 2nd District, and Schuyler M. Meyer was elected to the New York State Senate. 

1921 – The Club became involved with the mayoral campaign of  Club Founder Henry H. Curran in opposition to Mayor John F. Hylan. Theodore Roosevelt III was appointed by President Warren G. Harding as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Club Alumnus Seabury C. Mastick is elected to the New York State Assembly. 

1922 –  Club Member F. Trubee Davison was elected to the New York State Assembly from the 2nd District, and Club Member Samuel H. Hofstadter was appointed as Deputy New York Attorney General.

1923 – President Warren G. Harding nominates both Club Founder Henry W. Goddard and fellow Club Alumnus William Bondy to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Assemblyman Victor R. Kaufman, a Club member, helped lead the passage of the Kaufman Electrification Act, which mandated the electrification of all railroads in New York City. Club Alumnus Seabury C. Mastick is elected to the New York State Senate. 

1924 – Club Member Phelps Phelps is elected to the New York State Assembly from the 10th District. Club Member Vito A. Marcantonio serves as Fiorello LaGuardia’s congressional campaign manager. Theodore Roosevelt III ran for Governor of New York against incumbent governor Alfred E. Smith, who defeated him by 105,000 votes. 

1925 – President Calvin Coolidge nominated Club Founder Thomas D. Thacher to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and President Coolidge also appointed Club Alumnus Emory Buckner as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Club Member Samuel H. Hofstadter is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1926 – Club Member F. Trubee Davison was appointed as the Assistant Secretary of War. Henry F. Holthusen becomes the first Chairman of the Board of Governors. Club Founder and former President Benjamin M. Day became the 11th director of Ellis Island.

1927 – Under the leadership of Club President and future State Senator Thomas C. Desmond, a tremendous upsurge in the Club’s strength and effectiveness took place after a major restructuring. The membership expanded from less than 100 to over 2,000. The Club awarded Honorary membership to Chauncey Depew on his 93rd birthday. 

1928 – When President Calvin Coolidge decided not to run for re-election, the Club was split as to whom to support for President. Even after a straw poll was cast showing Club members overwhelmingly supported Herbert Hoover for President, Thomas C. Desmond, Club President, insisted on the Club supporting, Vice President Charles G. Dawes. In the end, the Club went full force in support of Hoover for President. The Club contributed more than 500 volunteers to support Herbert Hoover’s presidential campaign. In October, Vice President Charles G. Dawes and New Hampshire Senator George H. Moses addressed the volunteers at the Club’s campaign headquarters. Club Member Louis J. Lefkowitz is elected to the New York State Assembly. Club Alumnus George U. Harvey is elected Borough President of Queens, the first Republican elected to that office. John McKee Stratton, Chairman of the Campaigns Committee, used a creative approach to meet President Herbert Hoover and generate publicity for the  Club by traveling via speedboat, plane, and car to Washington D.C. to submit a report, triggering a brief address from President Hoover thanking the Club for their hard work and acknowledging their efforts to encourage young people to vote. Thomas J. Curran was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. 

1929 – President Herbert Hoover appointed Club Member Charles Evans Hughes Jr. as United States Solicitor General. President Hoover also appointed Club Founder Alfred Conkling Coxe Jr. to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Club Member Abbot Low Moffat was elected to the New York State Assembly. Club Member Hubert Thomas Delany unsuccessfully runs for Congress in New York’s 21st District. Club Member Joseph C. Baldwin was elected to the Board of Aldermen of New York City, and he was the only Republican member with 94 Tammany Democrats. The Club formally expanded its Board of Governors from twenty-five members to thirty-one members. President Herbert Hoover appointed Theodore Roosevelt III as Governor of Puerto Rico. Club Member Samuel H. Hofstadter is elected to the New York State Senate.

1930 – The Club circulated a questionnaire to its members; of the 649 responses, an overwhelming number, 424, supported the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, 117 favored modification of the Volstead Act, and only 108 favored enforcement of prohibition. Undersecretary of the Treasury, Ogden L. Mills addresses the Club. New York Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Charles H. Tuttle is honored at the Club’s annual dinner. Club Founder Philip J. McCook was appointed by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt to preside over the Ewald Healy job-buying inquiry, which eventually led to the famed Seabury investigation and a public airing of the corruption in Tammany politics in the Democratic party in New York City. Club Member Francis E. Rivers is elected to the New York State Assembly.

1931 – Future Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey, becomes Chairman of the Club’s Board of Governors. Former Club President Thomas C. Desmond is elected to the New York State Senate.

1932 – In a year that was a landslide for Democrats, the Club gets its own candidate, Herbert Brownell Jr., elected as New York State Assemblyman, 10th A.D., then a Tammany stronghold. The Club spearheaded the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs’ creation to act as a state-wide umbrella organization for Young Republican Clubs in New York State. Club President George H. Sibley becomes the first Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. Club Member F. Trubee Davison ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York with William J. Donovan. Still, they were defeated in a landslide by Democrats Herbert H. Lehman and M. William Bray. President  Herbert Hoover appointed Theodore Roosevelt III as Governor-General of the Philippines.

1933 – The Club took a leading role in creating a Fusion ticket, which, with the election of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, ousted a long-entrenched Tammany regime in New York City. Chase Mellen Jr., a member of the Club’s Board of Governors, was elected as the Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee, defeating the incumbent Samuel S. Koenig.  Chase Mellen Jr., a Harvard graduate and WWI veteran, ran an anti-establishment administration as chairman of the party, insisting that career politicians had no place in the party. Former United States Attorney General George W. Wickersham addresses the Club. President Herbert Hoover appointed Club Founder Thomas D. Thacher as Solicitor General of the United States. Thomas J. Curran was elected as a New York City Alderman.

1934 – Chase Mellen Jr. endorsed Joseph McGoldrick alongside the chairman of the Brooklyn County Republican Committee to become New York City Comptroller, in an election where McGoldrick would win. Thomas J. Curran was elected as the city council’s minority leader in 1934.

1935 – Chase Mellen Jr. resigned as Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee in 1935 after a period where seemingly all his endorsed candidates would either refuse to run for re-election or outright refuse his endorsement. Former Club President Joseph C. Baldwin is elected to the New York State Senate. Club Member Vito A. Marcantonio is elected to Congress from the 20th district. Club Member Kenneth F. Simpson is elected Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee. A Harvard Law School-educated lawyer and veteran of the Pancho Villa Expedition and World War I, Kenneth F. Simpson was a prominent Roosevelt Republican. He would go on to lead the party through five of its most turbulent years.  The Club maintains 780 members on its rolls. 

1936 – The Club provided over 1,000 volunteers for Presidential candidate Alf Landon. The Club maintains 770 members on its rolls.

1937 – The Club was one of the first organizations to call for the re-nomination and re-election of Mayor LaGuardia as the Republican candidate. Kenneth F. Simpson successfully got Fiorello La Guardia re-elected, severely damaging the power of the Democratic Tammany Hall in the city. The Club helped elect three members to public office, Augustus Newbold Morris as President of the City Council, Stanley M. Isaacs as President of the Borough of Manhattan, and Thomas E. Dewey as District Attorney of New York County. Club Alumnus Bruce F. Barton is elected to Congress from New York’s 17th District. The Club maintains 860 members on its rolls. Mayor LaGuardia appoints Club Founder Henry H. Curran as Deputy Mayor. Out of the 79 Republican candidates running for public office in New York County in 1937, 36 are members of our Club.

1938 – The Club vigorously supported Club Alumnus Allen W. Dulles in his campaign for the 16th Congressional District. Club Alumnus Bruce F. Barton is successfully elected to Congress from the 17th District. Club Member MacNeil Mitchell is elected to the New York State Assembly. Club Alumnus Walter Staunton Mack Jr. becomes President of Pepsi-Cola. The Club formed a Constitutional Convention Committee, which drafted numerous amendments and proposed revisions to the New York State Constitution. The Club maintains 730 members on its rolls. Club Alumnus Stanley M. Isaacs is elected as Manhattan Borough President. Kenneth F. Simpson campaigned heavily for Thomas E. Dewey‘s 1938 bid for governor. Despite losing the election, due to his campaign efforts, Kenneth F. Simpson was named to the Republican National Committee

1939 – Club Alumnus Phelps Phelps was elected to the New York State Senate from the 11th District, and Club Member Frederic René Coudert Jr. was elected to the New York State Senate from the 17th District. The Club maintains 770 members on its rolls.

1940 – Club Alumnus William T. Pheiffer was elected by a wide margin to represent the 16th Congressional District on the East Side of Manhattan in the 77th Congress. Pheiffer was the first Republican to carry the district, defeating the Democratic incumbent, James Fay. Kenneth F. Simpson and Thomas E. Dewey would have a series of clashes culminating in Simpson’s resignation as party chairman over the rejection of the removal of David B. Costuma as one of the state’s electors in December 1940. Kenneth F. Simpson would later be elected to Congress, and Club Alumnus Thomas J. Curran would succeed him as Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee. Thomas E. Dewey sought the 1940 Republican presidential nomination. He was considered the early favorite for the nomination, but his support ebbed in the late spring of 1940, as World War II suddenly became much more dangerous for the United States. The Club maintains 765 members on its rolls. 

1941 – Former Club President Joseph C. Baldwin is elected to Congress from the 17th District. The Club successfully helped elect Club Member Edgar J. Nathan as President of the Borough of Manhattan, and he is the last Republican to hold said office. Club Members Stanley M. Isaacs, Thomas E. Stephens, and Meyer Goldberg are elected to the New York City Council. Club Alumnus Congressman Kenneth F. Simpson dies from a heart attack one month after taking office. Club Member Seymour Halpern is elected to the New York State Senate. 

1942 – The Club supported the successful gubernatorial campaign of former Chairman of the Club’s Board of Governors, Thomas E. Dewey. The Club maintains 780 members on its rolls.

1943 – Governor Thomas E. Dewey appoints Club Alumnus Thomas J. Curran as Secretary of State of New York. Former Club President David W. Peck was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of New York. Club Member Richard A. DiCostanzo is elected to the New York State Senate. The Club maintains 730 members on its rolls, 250 of whom served on active duty during World War II. Former Club President Willaim Bradford Hubbell dies while serving on active duty in the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II.

1944 – Club Member Herbert Brownell Jr. is elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Thomas E. Dewey lost the presidential election on November 7, 1944, to President Roosevelt. Dewey had polled 45.9% of the popular vote compared to Roosevelt’s 53.4%, a stronger showing against Roosevelt than any previous Republican opponent. In the Electoral College, Roosevelt defeated Dewey by a margin of 432 to 99. Thomas J. Curran challenged Robert F. Wagner during the 1944 New York senatorial election, losing 3,294,576 to 2,899,497. 

1945 – Club Alumnus Frederic René Coudert Jr. was elected to the New York State Senate from the 2oth District, and Club Member Joseph F. Carlino was elected to the New York State Assembly. The Club endorsed and supported fusionist Mayoral candidate Jonah J. Goldstein.

1946 – The Club actively campaigned for Club Alumnus Jacob K. Javits and saw him win an upset victory for Congress in Washington Heights. The Club also supported alumnus Frederick P. Bryan in his ultimately unsuccessful challenge against Club Alumnus Democratic Congressman Vito A. Marcantonio. 

1947 – Frederic René Coudert Jr. is elected to Congress from the 17th District, Kenneth B. Keating is elected to Congress from the 40th District, and MacNeil Mitchell is elected to the New York State Senate. The Club unsuccessfully campaigned for the retention of proportional representation in the New York City Council. Former Club President David W. Peck was appointed Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the 1st District and was thus responsible for the districts of Manhattan and the Bronx. Peck, at his appointment, was 44 years old and thus was the youngest judge to date of this rank in the State of New York. The Club’s oldest award, the Civic Service Award, is formed, and its first recipient is Thomas E. Dewey. 

1948 – The Club helped elect another Club Member, George Frankenthaler, as the Surrogate of New York County, the first and last Republican ever elected to that office. The Club ran one of its members, John Ellis, against Club Alumnus Democratic Congressman Vito A. Marcantonio; like Frederick P. Bryan, two years earlier, John Ellis’ campaign failed to secure a win. Thomas E. Dewey was the Republican candidate again in the 1948 presidential election, with California Governor Earl Warren on the bottom half of the ticket. Dewey was almost unanimously projected to win against incumbent Harry S. Truman, who had taken over from Roosevelt when he died in office in 1945. Dewey received 45.1% of the popular vote to Truman’s 49.6%. In the Electoral College, Dewey won 16 states with 189 electoral votes, Truman 28 states with 303 electoral votes, and Thurmond four states (all in the South) with 39 electoral votes. The key states in the election were Illinois, California, and Ohio, which together had a combined 78 electoral votes. Truman won each of these three states by less than one percentage point; had Dewey won all three states, he would have won the election in the Electoral College, and if he had any two, this would have forced a contingent election in the House of Representatives.

1949 – President Harry S. Truman appointed Club Alumnus George Walbridge Perkins Jr. as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. George Frankenthaler is awarded the Civic Service Award at the Club’s annual gala. Club Alumnus Thomas E. Dewey appointed fellow Club Alumnus John Foster Dulles to the United States Senate to replace Democratic incumbent Robert F. Wagner, who had resigned due to ill health. Dulles served from July 7 to November 8, 1949. He lost the 1949 special election to finish the term to Democratic nominee Herbert H. Lehman. Two former Club alumni ran for Mayor, Augustus Newbold Morris, who ran as a Republican and was supported actively by the Club, and Vito A. Marcantonio, who ran on the American Labor Party ticket, but Democrat William O’Dwyer defeated both.

1950 – Members of the Club initiated the “Draft Dewey” movement in 1950 and successfully persuaded Governor Thomas E. Dewey to seek a third term. Participation of the Club members in that campaign contributed to the Governor amassing one of the largest total votes received by a Republican in New York City to that date. During that year, members of the Club ran the congressional campaign of one of the Club’s former Presidents, Henry Varnum Poor. The Board of Governors endorsed former Club Vice President and New York State Assemblyman John J. Lamula for Congress in New York’s 16th Congressional District despite running as an Independent. The Club actively campaigned on behalf of Edward Corsi in his mayoral run. Club Member F. Clinton White becomes Chairman of the Association of New York Young Republican Clubs. The Club released its own policy platform entitled ‘The Blueprint for a Better America‘, which received critical acclaim from the local and national press. The policy platform aimed to reduce government spending, lower taxes, and increase economic freedom, calling for an end to what the Club saw as the failings of the New Deal and the expansion of the welfare state.

1951 – The Club supplied most of the active support for the Republican candidate for President of the City Council, Henry J. Latham.

1952 – The Club was among the first Republican organizations to go on record in favor of Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Republican candidate for President. Club Member John V. Lindsay helped found The National Youth For Eisenhower. Many capable Club members joined the Eisenhower administration, among them, the late John Foster Dulles as Secretary of State, Herbert Brownell Jr., as Attorney General, former Board Chairman Harold H. Healy Jr. as Executive Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, and Winthrop W. Aldrich as Ambassador to the Court of St. James who was later succeeded by another Club Member, John Hay Whitney. In addition, many former Club Presidents achieved prominence during this period. James L. Guilmartin was appointed as United States Attorney for the South District of Florida,  Cornelius W. Wickersham Jr. served as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Paul W. Williams served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Paul W. Williams would be succeeded by a former Chairman of the Club’s Board of Governors, Samuel Hazard Gillespie Jr. Club Alumnus Bernard Tompkins, is elected to the New York State Senate.

1953 –  The Club endorsed and supported Club Alumnus Harold Riegelman‘s campaign for Mayor of New York City. Club Member Stuyvesant Wainwright is elected to Congress from the 1st District. President Eisenhower received the Club’s Civic Service Award. President Eisenhower appoints Club Alumnus F. Trowbridge vom Baur as General Counsel of the Navy. President Eisenhower appointed Club Alumnus William T. Pheiffer as the Ambassador to the Dominican Republic and Club Alumnus Amos J. Peaslee as Ambassador to Australia. 

1954 – U.S. Senator Irving M. Ives was the Republican candidate to succeed Thomas E. Dewey, but he and his ticket, except for Jacob K. Javits, went down to defeat by a small margin. In the contest for Attorney General, Congressman Jacob K. Javits defeated Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., the Democratic and Liberal party candidate. Club Members Charles Miller Metzner and John Trubin ran these campaigns, respectively, and Club members played a major part in both campaigns. That same year, Board member Morton B. Lawrence served as Executive Director of the New York Eisenhower-Nixon Congressional Campaign Committee, gaining experience he used four years later when he helped found the “Draft Rockefeller for Governor” movement and the “Rockefeller for Governor Clubs,” serving as their Executive Director. In April, former Club President Archie O. Dawson was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Club maintains 3,000 members on its rolls.

1955 – President Eisenhower appointed Club Alumnus John Marshall Harlan II as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court. President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated J. Edward Lumbard to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated by Judge John Marshall Harlan II. President Eisenhower also provided a recess appointment to Club Alumnus William Bernard Herlands to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Club successfully lobbied for the direct election of Republican Party District Leaders in Manhattan. Former United States President Herbert Hoover was awarded at the Club’s annual gala. Noted communist sympathizer Harvey J. Matusow is expelled from the Club. Club Member Charles K. McWhorter becomes Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation. Assemblyman and Club Member Joseph F. Carlino becomes the Majority Leader in the New York State Assembly. 

1956 – The Club once again provided much of Youth for Eisenhower and Youth for Javits. President Eisenhower was seeking re-election, and Attorney General Jacob K. Javits was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator. Both were successful, and the State Legislature chose Club Alumnus Louis J. Lefkowitz to succeed Attorney General Jacob K. Javits. The Club was influential in founding the United Young Republican Club in Harlem in 1956 through its first Lincoln Day Dinner sponsorship. The Club began a program to enroll its members at the election district level. Assuming the full responsibility for eight election districts in the 9th Assembly District of Manhattan, the Club was successful in bringing out 98.5% of the enrolled Republicans in these districts on election day. The Club worked to support Hungarian refugees fleeing Hungary after the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution; the Club hosted benefit events to raise funds for them, including a massive rally of over 1,000 people at Madison Square Garden and at the Plaza Hotel.

1957 – The Club was instrumental in the election of Stanley M. Isaacs to the New York City Council. The Club initiated “Operation City Budget,” a study and analysis of the City’s Expense Budget, which culminated in a well-documented appearance of Club members before the City’s Board of Estimate. The Club actively campaigned for Robert K. Christenberry’s mayoral campaign. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles designated Club Member Roderic L. O’Connor as Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs. Club Alumnus Lawrence E. Walsh is appointed as Deputy Attorney General.

1958 – The Republican Party was determined to win back the governorship in 1958, and many of this Club’s members played an active part on behalf of the various candidates. Still, the State Convention’s nomination went to Nelson A. Rockefeller, brother of Club Alumnus David Rockefeller. Playing a vital role in the entire campaign from nomination to the election was former Board Chairman and later Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Roswell B. Perkins. After he was inaugurated, Governor Rockefeller appointed several Club members to high posts in his administration, including Thomas Thatcher, William S. Brennen, Samuel C. Cantor, and Club President Albert C. Petite, who resigned as Club President to become Tax Consultant to the Department of Taxation and Finance which evidences the legal talent called to Albany from the Club’s membership. At a meeting of the Club in the spring of 1958, after a lengthy debate, the membership endorsed former Club President John V. Lindsay, the Executive Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General, to challenge the incumbent East Side congressman, and Club Alumnus Frederic René Coudert Jr., in the Republican Primary Election. Frederic René Coudert Jr. withdrew, and the Republican Party designated former Club President Elliot H. Goodwin to oppose the Lindsay challenge. The victor in the hard-fought primary and General Election was John V. Lindsay, who defeated his Democratic-Liberal opponent by a narrow margin in the general election. 

1959 – The conservative faction of the Club (the ‘Syndicate‘) led by F. Clifton White and William A. Rusher is pushed out of Club leadership by the more liberal and moderate Thomas E. Dewey aligned faction (the ‘Mallards‘) led by John V. Lindsay and Charles Miller Metzner. Club Alumnus Kenneth B. Keating is elected to the United States Senate. President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated former Club President Charles Miller Metzner to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Club Member Seymour Halpern was elected to Congress, and Club Member Christian H. Armbruster was elected to the New York State Assembly. Assembly Majority Leader and Club Alumnus Joseph F. Carlino becomes Speaker of the New York State Assembly. The Club made a special bid for young Spanish-speaking Americans in NYC to join the GOP and the Club in particular. Puerto Rican leaders received this bid favorably, and virtually every newspaper in the city applauded the effort.

1960 – The Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs awards the Club with the Charles K. McWhorter Award. The Club submitted a proposed Republican Party platform at the Republican National Convention. President Dwight Eisenhower nominated Club Alumnus William H. Timbers as a United States District Court Judge.

1961 – The Club helped lead the effort to elect the popular State Attorney General, Louis J. Lefkowitz, as Mayor of New York City. Although he waged a vigorous campaign, he, like the five previous Republican mayoral candidates before him, went down to defeat. Membership of the Club reaches 1,400. The Club also issued its own campaign buttons for the first time in its history. The Club obtained its own Clubhouse at 15 West 45th Street to serve as a combined office, meeting, and campaign headquarters. Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller was the guest of honor at the official opening of the new Clubhouse. In a letter to Club President Stanley Weiss, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller commented, “Your new Clubhouse stands as a solid testimonial to the fidelity and increasing strength of the New York Young Republican Club, as well as to the high intelligence, patriotism, energy, and initiative of the leadership it has had in its half-century of progress.” 

1962 – The Club played a major part in the nomination and election of former Board Chairman Theodore R. Kupferman as Councilman to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the venerable Stanley M. Isaacs, the first in a series of electoral victories that would eventually take Theodore R. Kupferman to Congress, to the New York State Supreme Court and finally to the Appellate Division of that court. This year also saw the Club take an active role in the successful campaigns to reelect Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, Senator Jacob K. Javits, Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, and Representative John V. Lindsay. The Club’s goal now was to elect the next Mayor of New York City, something the Republicans hadn’t been able to accomplish since Fiorello H. LaGuardia’s third-term victory in 1941. President John F. Kennedy nominated former Chairman of the Club’s Board of Governors, Edward Cochrane McLean, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Club held its ‘Golden Anniversary Dinner‘ in March. The Stanley M. Isaacs Award is formed to honor longtime Club Alumnus Stanley M. Isaacs under Club President E. Virgil Conway, the Club launched an investigation into air pollution control by the City government. Vincent Albano Jr. is elected as Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee. 

1963 – Ordinarily, this would have been an off-political year. Still, Assemblywoman Dorothy Bell Lawrence, long a powerful Republican leader on Manhattan’s East Side, resigned her seat in the Legislature. The Club urged one of its former presidents, John M. Burns, to seek that office. With Club members’ support, he was successful in the Republican primary and the special election, defeating his Democratic-Liberal opponent by 1,200 votes out of about 24,000. In 1963, Councilman Theodore R. Kupferman was challenged in the Republican primary by former Club President J. Dudley Devine. A coalition of conservative groups on the East Side of Manhattan, groups that would form the base of the Goldwater movement in New York the following year, had launched what would turn out to be a losing campaign to unseat Theodore R. Kupferman. Members of the Club were active on both sides, with William Whittemore, who recently had lost the Club presidency to E. Virgil Conway. Stanley Goldstein, a leader of the conservative wing, supported J. Dudley Devine. At the same time, Charles G. Moerdler served as the Kupferman campaign manager with the support of a majority of the Club’s members. In May, Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed fellow Club Alumnus Hubert Thomas Delany as Chairman of a powerful Temporary State Commission on Low-income Housing. The commission held all the authority of a full legislative public inquiry with the ability to call witnesses and subpoena records. Club Member Ogden Reid is elected to Congress. 

1964 – The Presidential campaign divided the Club ideologically, with former Club President John A. Wells directing Club Alumnus Nelson A. Rockefeller’s presidential campaign, who lost the nomination to Senator Barry Goldwater. Although Senator Goldwater won the nomination, he lost the general election by a huge margin, bringing down with him Club Member MacNeil Mitchell, who had had a 26-year career in the Assembly and the Senate until then. Despite the overwhelming vote for President Lyndon B. Johnson in his congressional district, John V. Lindsay was re-elected to a fourth term by a plurality of 91,000 votes, and Club Member Sedgwick W. Green began his outstanding career by defeating the incumbent Assemblyman and three other candidates in a Republican primary and going on to victory in the general election. Club members worked in the re-election campaign of U.S. Senator Kenneth B. Keating, a Club alumnus, who was to be elected to the state’s Court of Appeals the following year in a campaign run by Club Member John Trubin. Jackie Robinson was the guest of honor for the 1964 Annual Dinner, receiving the War Memorial Award (Previously known as the Civic Service Award) from the Club. The Club maintained a membership of 1,200. 

1965 – The mayoral election of 1965 was one of the most memorable in the Club’s history. Congressman John V. Lindsay, a former Club president, was the Republican candidate, and he also had the endorsement of the Liberal party. In addition to the Democratic candidate, former City Comptroller Abraham D. Beame, John V. Lindsay was opposed by writer-commentator William F. Buckley, the Conservative Party’s candidate. Senator Javits was the Lindsay campaign chairman, while Club Member Robert Price directed the day-to-day activities as campaign manager. Club members, too numerous to list, flocked to the Lindsay headquarters and headed almost every area of activity at headquarters or in the field. The Club’s efforts were rewarded with the election of former Club President John V. Lindsay as Mayor of New York City, fulfilling the Club’s 1962 pledge. Many Club officers accepted positions in the Lindsay administration, and many of Mayor Lindsay’s Commissioners were Club members. This intricate symbiotic relationship between the Club and the Lindsay administration allowed the Club to realize its ideal of bringing good government to the City of New York. Robert Price became Deputy Mayor, a position he held for about a year until he was succeeded by Robert W. Sweet, who had been Executive Assistant to the Mayor; Charles G. Moerdler was named Buildings Commissioner, to be succeeded by William J. Diamond in 1967. Sidney Davidoff, an assistant campaign manager, was appointed as an Assistant Buildings Commissioner, as were Jacques Debrot and Seymour M. Unger. Soon after, Mr. Sidney Davidoff was appointed Assistant to the Mayor, a post he held through the remainder of John Lindsay’s eight years at City Hall. Richard Lewisohn, who had become the leader of the 9th A.D. Republican Club (by then the 66th A.D.) after the Lindsay supporters had taken over the Club in 1959, resigned to accept appointment as the Commissioner of Purchase, to be followed by Franklin R. Weissberg, another Club member and noted theatrical lawyer who Mayor Lindsay had chosen to be a consultant to him for the performing arts. Joseph L. Forstadt, a Board Vice-Chairman who had also been active in the Lindsay campaign, was named Deputy Commissioner of Licenses and later became Acting Commissioner when the department’s name was changed to that of Consumer Affairs. Many other Club members were appointed to full-time, volunteer, and advisory positions with the Lindsay Administration. Roy M. Goodman, a businessman who had served as a legislative aide to Assemblyman John Robert Brook, was asked by Mayor Lindsay to take on the Finance Commissioner position, which he did. Of the twenty-five members of the Club’s Board of Governors, twenty-three joined the Lindsay Administration. Governor George Romney was honored by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller at the Club’s Annual Gala. 

1966 – With the election of John V. Lindsay as Mayor, a vacancy was created in his congressional district, and Club Members Thomas Brownell, George A. Kalkines, and Joseph L. Forstadt, led the campaign to elect Councilman Theodore R. Kupferman, who won by 900 votes in a Special Election on February 8, 1966. Under the rules of the Council, the other Manhattan members had to elect a Republican to fill the Kupferman vacancy on the City Council, and they chose Woodward Kingman, who had been Club President from 1955 to 1956. That November, Club Alumnus Whitney North Seymour, Jr. won back the Senate seat on Manhattan’s East Side, which the Republicans had lost in 1964, while Theodore R. Kupferman, John M. Burns, and Sedgwick W. Green were reelected. Club Alumnus Christian H. Armbruster is elected to the New York State Senate. 

1967 – The War Memorial Award, one of the Club’s highest honors, was presented to Oregon’s U.S. Senator, Mark O. Hatfield, by Senator Jacob K. Javits at the Club’s annual dinner in memory of those Club members who died during World War II. Stanley B. Thomas Jr. became the first black Chairman of the Club’s Board of Governors. Approximately 1,300 members are listed on the Club’s rolls. 

1968 – Several Club members vied for many of the same elected offices on the East Side of Manhattan. Congressman Theodore R. Kupferman announced that he would not seek re-election – he received a bipartisan nomination for the State Supreme Court the following year – and Assemblyman Sedgwick W. Green sought the nomination. State Senator Whitney North Seymour Jr. Mike Seymour’s decision to seek congressional office created a state senatorial vacancy. Assemblyman John M. Burns and Roy M. Goodman sought the nomination, while Thomas M. Brownell and Peter W. Hoguet vied for the nomination to succeed John M. Burns. A vacancy was also created in the 66th A. D., which Sedgwick W. Green had represented for four years. William J. Diamond, then Commissioner of Buildings, was given the party designation only to be challenged by Stephen C. Hansen, a relative newcomer to Republican politics. All of the candidates except Mr. Hoguet and Mr. Hansen were members of the New York Young Republican Club. Whitney North Seymour Jr., Roy M. Goodman, Stephen C. Hansen, and Peter W. Hoguet won in the primary elections over Sedgwick W. Green, John M. Burns, William J. Diamond, and Thomas Brownell, respectively, but only Roy M. Goodman and Stephen Hansen were to be victorious in the General Election; 1968 saw the loss of a congressional and an assembly seat by the Republicans on the East Side. As part of the Club’s staunch support for the election of Club Member President Richard M. Nixon & Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, the Club commissioned the minting of up to 5,000 individually numbered pure silver commemorative medallions. The proceeds of the sale of these medallions helped fund the Club’s efforts to support the campaign.

1969 –  John V. Lindsay would seek re-election, and all of the Club’s energies were directed toward achieving that goal. He again was designated by the Republican and Liberal parties but faced a challenge for the Republican nomination from Staten Island Senator John J. Marchi. Despite the hard work of Club members and other Lindsay campaigners, when the results came in on Primary Night, the winner was Senator Marchi, who also had the Conservative party nomination. The Democratic candidate who won his party’s primary was City Comptroller Mario A. Procaccino, a product of the Bronx Democratic organization who had benefited in the Primary Election by the vote being split among the “reform” Democratic candidates for the mayoral nomination. The defeat of Mayor Lindsay in the Republican Primary shocked his supporters, who had gathered at his headquarters that night. They cast a pall on the gathering until “reform” Democrats began to show up and, one by one, pledged their support to John V. Lindsay and said they would become active in his campaign. This crossing of party lines would be the basis of the Lindsay victory that November. Still, it would have a deleterious effect on the Republican party locally in the years to come. The Club maintained 1,500 members on its rolls. President Richard Nixon appointed Associate Club Member Rita E. Hauser as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

1970 – In his bid for a fourth term in the Governor’s Mansion in 1970, Nelson A. Rockefeller was opposed by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg, the Democratic and Liberal candidate. The Club’s efforts on Governor Rockefeller’s behalf were complicated by Mayor Lindsay’s decision to support Justice Goldberg. Despite this, most of the Club’s members did work for Governor Rockefeller’s re-election and for that of Senator Goodell, who also had the Liberal party nomination, but who was opposed by Democratic Congressman Richard L. Ottinger of Westchester and attorney-businessman James L. Buckley, a Republican seeking election as the Conservative Party candidate. Again, Governor Rockefeller was victorious, but Mr. Buckley defeated Senator Goodell and Congressman Ottinger with 39 percent of the vote. Member of the Club’s Board of Governors Joseph L. Searles III became the first black floor member and floor broker in the New York Stock Exchange.

1971 – John V. Lindsay switched his party registration to that of a Democrat – many in his administration did the same – and announced that he was a candidate for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. Although he eventually failed to garner the nomination, he had the support of many Club members, principally those who were part of his administration. 

1972 – Club President Joseph L. Forstadt becomes Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. Club members primarily manned the Nixon campaign headquarters in New York. 

1973 – Club Alumnus Kenneth B. Keating is appointed as Ambassador to Israel by President Richard Nixon. President Richard Nixon also appoints fellow Club Alumnus Russell E. Train as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

1974 – Club Alumnus Nelson A. Rockefeller is appointed Vice President of the United States by President Gerald Ford. Club President Guy E. C. Maitland becomes Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. The Club hits a low point of only 50 members on its rolls. 

1975 – The membership approved an amendment to the Club Bylaws, allowing women to apply for membership in the New York Young Republican Club. Ellen G. Tencza becomes the first woman to lead the New York Young Republican Club. Club Alumnus David Rockefeller becomes Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations.

1976 – The Club campaigned strongly for Gerald Ford’s presidential campaign.

1977 – Club membership rebounds after a long decline. The Club reached 500 members on its rolls. Club Alumnus Roy M. Goodman ran for mayor in 1977, being defeated in a landslide by Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch, despite polls showing him up 5 to 6%. 

1978 – President Jimmy Carter nominates Club Alumnus Robert W. Sweet to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Club Alumnus Sedgwick W. Green is elected to Congress from New York’s 18th District. Club Alumnus Yorke Allen Jr. was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives.

1980 – Lee A. Forlenza was elected President of the Club, and soon thereafter, Jo Ann Albano Cohen, daughter of New York County Republican Committee Chairman Vincent F. Albano Jr., became Chairman of the Board of Governors. This created an immediate political quandary for President Forlenza, as the New York County Republican Committee Chairman supported George H.W. Bush for the Republican Presidential nomination. In contrast, most of the Club’s membership supported California Governor Ronald Reagan. Widespread resignations followed from both the Board and regular membership. Yet, after weathering this storm, President Forlenza’s administration was marked by his ability to steer an independent course for the Club while bringing factions within the Club together.

1981 – President Ronald Reagan appointed Club alumni Evan G. Galbraith as the United States Ambassador to France, and Samuel R. Pierce Jr. was appointed as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Club Alumnus Roy M. Goodman is elected as Chairman of the New York County Republican Committee. This would be the last county party chairman who was either a member or an alumnus of the Club. 

1982 – The Club played an active role in Lewis Lehrman’s gubernatorial campaign.

1984 – Club members hold 40% of the leadership positions in Youth for Reagan. The Club begins chartering College Republican clubs throughout the City. Club President Thomas R. Stevens is named New York State Youth Coordinator for Reagan-Bush ’84. Chairman of the Board, Salvatore J. Calise, ran for Congress in the 9th Congressional District with strong support from the Club. President Ronald Reagan nominated Club Alumnus Peter K. Leisure to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Due to a dispute with the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs, the Club decided to charter its own state-wide Young Republican umbrella organization called the Federation of New York State Young Republican Clubs. Over half the Clubs within the Association of New York State Young, Republican Clubs chose to leave that group and join the newly formed Federation of New York State Young Republican Clubs. 

1985 – President Ronald Reagan appoints Club Alumnus John C. Whitehead to serve as Deputy Secretary of State.

1987 – President Ronald Reagan nominated former Board of Governors Chairman Stuart A. Summit to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. His nomination died a year later due to unexpected opposition by New York Republican Senator Al D’Amato.

1988 – The Manhattan Young Republican Club merges with the New York Young Republican Club.

1989 – President George H.W. Bush appointed Club Alumnus Thomas Patrick Melady as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See.

1990 – The Club fractured into two competing organizations, one affiliated with the New York State Republican Committee and the New York County Republican Committee, and the other, the ‘Independent Club,’ ending all affiliation with the New York State Republican Committee and the New York Republican County Committee. The ‘Affiliated Club‘ rejoined the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs and the Young Republican National Federation.

1995 – Former Chairman of the Board of Governors, Salvatore J. Calise, becomes Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs.

1996 – The Club campaigned strongly for Bob Dole’s presidential campaign. Mayor Rudy Giuliani appoints Club Alumnus Rudy Washington as Deputy Mayor of New York City.

2001 – The ‘Independent Club‘ stood out among the New York Republican organizations and committees. Then ‘Independent Club’ President Robert H. Hornak and the ‘Independent Club’ leadership announced their support of Herman Badillo’s candidacy for Mayor of New York over the party establishment’s choice of Michael Bloomberg, whom the ‘Affiliated Club’ fully supported. Many Club members worked feverishly on the Badillo campaign, making a valiant effort, but Michael Bloomberg won the nomination in the end. After the primary, the ‘Independent Club‘ chose not to endorse the Republican candidate for mayor because it felt Bloomberg was truly a liberal Democrat.

2002 – The Club works closely with People for Pataki and is successful in getting Governor George Pataki reelected to a third term as Governor of New York. Former Club President Anton Srdanovic ran for Congress in the 14th Congressional District against Representative Carolyn Maloney. Mayor Michael Bloomberg named Club Alumnus Roy M. Goodman as the President of the United Nations Development Corporation, which sought to replace and then demolish the Headquarters of the United Nations

2003 – Club President Jason S. Weingartner was elected Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. Five ‘Affiliated Club’ members ran for the New York City Council. Future Club President Lynn Krogh becomes Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Pataki. The New York Young Republican Club wins the Club of the Year Award from the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. The Club partners with Forza Italia Giovani, the youth wing of the Italian center-right Forza Italia party. Three Board Members of the ‘Independent Club’ unsuccessfully ran for New York City Council: Jennifer Arrangio, Jay Golub, and Josh Yablon. The Club maintains 375 members on its rolls.

2004 – The Club provides the largest volunteer contingent to the Republican National Convention in New York City. Club Member Emily Csendes ran a strong campaign for State Senate against Democrat incumbent Tom Duane, and Anton Srdanovic again challenged the incumbent for the 14th Congressional seat. The Club’s membership surpasses 580 dues-paying members. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is the keynote speaker for the Club’s 92nd Annual Gala. Other guests include former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, famed author, and pollster Kellyanne Conway, and Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kerry Healy. The ‘Independent Club’ strongly supported Michael Benjamin’s unsuccessful attempt to challenge Chuck Schumer for the United States Senate. The ‘Independent Club’ President Paul A. Rodriguez unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the 12th Congressional District.

2005 – Mayor Michael Bloomberg once again addresses the Club at the 93rd Annual Gala. The club received the Best Large Local Club Award from the Young Republican National Federation. The Club maintains 550 members on its rolls.

2006 – The club received the Best Local Club Award from the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs.

2007 – The Club creates the first New York Straw Poll for the 2008 Presidential Elections. President George W. Bush appointed Club Alumnus Michael B. Mukasey as the United States Attorney General. 

2008 – The Club surpasses 1,000 dues-paying members. Five Club Members ran for seats in the State Assembly, State Senate, and the House of Representatives.

2009 – Club President Lynn Krogh is elected as Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. Club Alumnus Edward F. Cox becomes the Chairman of the New York State Republican Committee.

2011 – The Club hosts its 100th Annual Gala. The Club maintains 250 members on its rolls.

2012 – Khalil A. Haddad was elected Club President and presented the Herbert Brownell Jr. Award to Club Alumnus and U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. The Club received the Best Club Website Award from the Young Republican National Federation. 

2013 – Brian R. Morgenstern was elected Club President and presented the New York Young Republican Club Award (Previously the War Memorial Award) to U.S. Senator Tom Coburn. Former Club President Jason S. Weingartner was elected Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation and appointed Executive Director of the New York State Republican  Committee. The ‘Independent Club‘ elects Alysia J. Dagrosa as president. She is the first black female president of the ‘Independent Club.’

2014 – The Club leads deployments to New Hampshire in support of Scott Brown’s Senatorial campaign and New York’s 1st Congressional District in support of Lee Zeldin. The Club maintains 295 members on its rolls.

2015 – Under the presidency of Samantha M. McNeilly, the New York Young Republican Club wins the Club of the Year Award from the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. The ‘Independent Club‘ largely ceases operations. 

2017 – Former Club President Brian R. Morgenstern is appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of the Treasury.

2018 – Club Member Joseph Pinion III ran a vigorous campaign for the New York State Assembly in Yonkers. Club Alumnus Mike Beltran is elected to the Florida House of Representatives.

2019 – The Club regains the mantle as the largest Young Republican club in the country, with over 450 dues-paying members on the rolls. The Club led a successful deployment to help elect Bob Helbock as a Civil Court Judge on the North Shore of Staten Island. This was the first Republican victory for that seat in a generation. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was the Club’s keynote speaker for the 107th Annual Gala. Club Member Colin J. Schmitt was elected to the New York State Assembly, and Club Member Richard T. Loughery was elected as Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation. Club Member and City Councilman Joseph C. Borelli unsuccessfully ran for New York City Public Advocate. 

2020 – Club President Gavin M. Wax is awarded the Republican Youth of the Year Award from the Queens Village Republican Club, the oldest Republican Club in the country, founded in 1875. Club President Gavin M. Wax is also appointed as the Chairman of the Association of Young Republican Clubs and the Digital Director of the Young Republican National Federation. The Club forms official partnerships with Italy’s largest party, La Lega, and the Swedish conservative youth movement, Konservativa Förbundet. Former Club President Brian R. Morgenstern becomes the Deputy White House Press Secretary. The Club was awarded the Outstanding Club Social Media Award from the Young Republican National Federation. Board member Gabriel E. Montalvo is appointed North East Regional Director of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. The Club made national and international headlines with its well-attended rally to protest against the removal of the Equestrian Statue of President Teddy Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History. The Club’s 108th Annual Gala also generated massive press and publicity due to the Club’s defiance of New York City’s COVID-19 lockdown, choosing to hold the gala across the river in New Jersey. Club Member and Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs Brian M. Maher is elected Montgomery Town Supervisor. Club Member, Dylan Stevenson unsuccessfully ran for Congress. Club Member Mike Martucci was successfully elected to the New York State Senate.

2021 – The Club secures its own Clubhouse for the first time in 60 years. The Club wins the Club of the Year Award from the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. President Gavin M. Wax is unanimously elected to serve as Corresponding Secretary for the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs. Club Corresponding Secretary Ilana A. Marcus was unanimously elected to serve as National Committeewoman, and Sergeant-at-Arms Fernando Acosta Jr. was appointed Metro Regional Vice-Chairman. Club Member Peter R. Giunta was elected unanimously as the new Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs, and Club Member John Kyriakides was reelected as the organization’s National Committeeman. The Club was successful in helping to elect three of its members to the New York City Council: David Michael Carr from Staten Island, Vickie Paladino from Queens, and New York City Council Minority Whip Inna Vernikov from Brooklyn. Club Member Joseph C. Borelli becomes Minority Leader in the New York City Council, presiding over the most prominent Republican Caucus in that body in many decades. Four additional Club members unsuccessfully ran for City Council: Vanessa Simon, Jackie Toboroff, Michael Conigliaro, and Mark Szuszkiewicz. Club Member Thomas Kenniff would also unsuccessfully run for Manhattan District Attorney. Outside of the city, Club Member Benjamin N. Geller was elected to the Dutchess County Legislature. In the Republican Party, Club Member John Burnett was elected as the executive vice-chairman of the New York State Republican Committee. Club Member Anthony Reinhart is elected as the Chairman of the Richmond County Republican Committee on Staten Island. Lastly, Augustus O. LeRoux was elected as Chairman of the New York Federation of College Republicans. The Club would prove instrumental in winning Curtis Sliwa the Republican nomination for Mayor of New York City, though he would ultimately lose to Eric Adams in the general election. The Club organized a ‘Re-Occupy’ Wall Street rally that received national and international press. Club Member Brendan Lantry is elected to the New York City Civil Court. 

2022 – Congresswoman and Chair of the House Republican Conference Elise Stefanik, Congressman Lee Zeldin, and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney formally joined the Club. The Club expanded its operational borders to include the entire New York City Metropolitan Area, and the Club adopted its first motto, ‘Ubi Historia Partis Futuro‘, which is translated from Latin means ‘Where the Party’s past Meets its Future‘. The Club surpassed 1,100 dues-paying members for the first time in decades. The Club’s newly formed Catholic Caucus, led by Chairman Michael R. Bartels, defended the entrance of and barred pro-abortion protestors from entering the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. The Club’s Hispanic Caucus made history when it marched in the annual Dominican Day Parade, marking the first time a Republican Club marched in that parade. The Club’s influence was evidenced in the New York State Republican Committee‘s designation of candidates for the 2022 election, which included Club Member and Congressman Lee Zeldin for Governor, who ran against fellow Club Member Andrew Giuliani in the Republican Primary; former Club President Paul Rodriguez for State Comptroller; Club Member Michael Henry for Attorney General; and former Club Secretary and Club Member Joe Pinion for United States Senate. Club Member Marc Molinaro was successfully elected to the United States House of Representatives. Club Members Brian Maher and Lester Chang were successfully elected to the New York State Assembly. Club Member Vanessa Simon was elected the New York State Republican Committee Secretary. The Publications Chairman, Nicholas T. Rafael Jr., marked the 1st anniversary of the Club’s newsletter, ‘The Record,’ since its revival in May 2021. The Club endorsed Viktor Orbán for his successful re-election as Prime Minister of Hungary, which marked the Club’s first international endorsement. Club President Gavin M. Wax traveled to Budapest to speak at the inaugural European CPAC, CPAC Hungary. The New York Young Republican Club and the Ring Freiheitlicher Jugend Österreich (Freedom Youth of Austria) announced the formation of a partnership to promote cultural exchange between their respective members and celebrate their shared heritage. The Club established a partnership with Jünge Alternative für Deutschland, the youth wing of the Alternative für Deutschland political party. Club President Gavin M. Wax won litigation, which the Club supported, to overturn an unconstitutional New York State Assembly district map. The Court decision vindicated the rights of New Yorkers to have free and fair elections. The Club raised over $20,000 for Tunnels to Towers. Club Member Brendan Lantry is elected to the New York Supreme Court.

2023 – The Club was one of the first organizations in the nation to officially endorse President Donald J. Trump for reelection and called on Republicans to stand with the President. President Trump thanked the Club for its support in a signed letter. The Club sent a delegation to Hungary where Club President Gavin M. Wax was once again a featured speaker at CPAC Hungary in Budapest, where he also had a substantive meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The Club established a transatlantic partnership with Budapest-based Center for Fundamental Rights to bolster Judeo-Christian values, fight left-wing progressivism, and unite conservative forces internationally. This partnership culminated in a jointly organized gala in Budapest, which featured Hungarian President Katalin Novák. President Wax also addressed members of the German Bundestag in Berlin and members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The Club’s voice resonated globally once again with the endorsement of Nayib Bukele for the presidency of El Salvador, which marked the Club’s second international endorsement. On the home front, the Club launched its Women’s Caucus to engage women in the Republican party further, and the Arts Caucus recognized the gaping need for a conservative voice in creative fields. The Club also unveiled a new Policy Platform spearheaded by Club Sergeant-at-Arms Troy M. Olson. The Club officially partnered with Washington D.C. Young Republicans on initiatives prioritizing the organization’s shared national populist values. The Club received the Outstanding Recruitment Award from the Young Republican National Federation at the Young Republican National Convention. The Club hosted the “Rally for Trump” event with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to protest the political arrest of Former President Donald J. Trump in lower Manhattan. The Club proudly hosted its 111th Annual Gala at Cipriani Wall Street, featuring the 45th President, Donald J. Trump, as the keynote speaker. The event featured speakers such as Representative Matt Gaetz and Senator Roger Marshall, enhancing the evening with insights into national security, veterans’ affairs, and conservative values. This gathering signified a momentous occasion, bringing together members and guests to celebrate resilience and engage in discussions pivotal to the Club’s mission.