AMERICAN MAJORITY, INC.

Our goal at American Majority is to help citizens learn how to effectively engage in the civic activity that made America the envy of the world.

In 1831, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville journeyed to the United States of America to learn about our unique form of government, culture, and civic institutions. His tome, Democracy in America, recognized the great strengths of America, notably in our propensity to create civic associations. These associations, both formal and informal, not only contributed to create a healthy, flourishing society, but a nation that was educated and engaged with each other, especially at the local level.

Unfortunately, much of this has been lost as our civic engagement has trended towards “fast food” civics; we’ve become a culture more concerned with Twitter takedowns and fiery talking points on cable news. Citizens have become pundits, performers on a national stage, often more concerned with the national drama of the day than what their kids learned from their teachers today. This not only results in bad government, but also a growing feeling of disconnection from civic institutions and our communities.

American Majority believes meaningful, lasting civic engagement starts at state and local levels, where most actual government decisions and spending occurs. We believe that to return to a healthy civic life of association and engagement, we must train citizens and new leaders across the country to focus on the issues closest to home. We equip, empower, and engage activists and new leaders by teaching them how to organize within their community, how to effect positive change, and how students can become stewards of their campus and good citizens after graduation.

As a 501c(3) non-partisan, nonprofit, American Majority continually trains, organizes, mobilizes, and empowers new grassroots conservative leaders to bring change to their communities. In-person training events, in both small community halls and at large conferences, utilize experienced trainers and engaging activities to equip attendees with the nuts and bolts skills they need to lead in their communities.

Founded in 2008, American Majority (AM) is the most effective non-partisan training institute dedicated to recruiting and training potential citizen leaders. AM trainees have been elected to school boards, city councils, state houses, and Congress. We recognize what Alexis de Tocqueville noted so many years ago: “[t]he health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” The private citizens, as Tocqueville described them, are today’s conservative leaders; AM trains them to make a difference.

While our national office is located in northern Virginia, just an hour from the nation’s capital, AM operates offices across the country, taking our programs and trainings and implementing them at the local level.

American Majority gives new leaders and activists the tools and technology to see the best policies adopted in the modern climate through three types of programs—in-person trainings, webinars, and online certification courses.

American Majority CEO & President Ned Ryun said, “It’s one thing to have good ideas, but unless you’re putting in place a systematic approach to action and equipping people to be successful…all we’re doing is having nice conversations about good ideas.” Conservatives have great ideas, but we fall far behind the Left when it comes to putting those ideas into action. American Majority works to change that balance. We design our trainings to take the conservative principles of free markets, limited government, and personal responsibility and put them into action, using the proven techniques of the Left. In a sentence, American Majority uses the Left’s weapons against them to enact national, generational change.
Through these trainings, we empower, equip, and engage conservative activists and candidates nationwide. Whether we train on campaign strategy, social media marketing, grassroots activism, or campus activism, attendees walk away with tools and actionable strategies that will enable them to impact their communities.

One of American Majority’s great strengths is our robust online and social media presence. Both the national organization and our staff have built a network of over 379,00 fans on Facebook; 575,000 followers on Twitter; and over 23,000 email subscribers. Additionally, American Majority regularly builds relationships with people and organizations to build coalitions in local communities across the nation.

American Majority not only encourages people to become more civically engaged and step into the public arena—we encourage the right people to do so. We want people who value traditional American principles like limited government, free markets, and personal liberty to take a stand in an effective way that brings about real change at the local, state, and national levels.

Lonny Leitner, Chief of Staff, specializes in grassroots training and voter education. Lonny brings 14 years of public and private sector experience to American Majority. He worked for many years as a public relations public affairs specialist and his background in campaign management helped hone excellent leadership and motivational skills.

Matthew Batzel Esq., National Executive Director, lead the Wisconsin chapter in training 159 new leaders at the state and local level, held over 230 trainings, and trained more than 7,800 individuals over six and a half years. Matt executed training blitzes, to equip hundreds of activists on how to help their candidates at many locations across Wisconsin. Matt has also deployed a massive online army through co-creating a Twitter hashtag – #Wiright – that mobilized grassroots conservatives online in an unprecedented way. Prior to joining American Majority, Matt gained experience at the state and federal levels, including in all three branches of the federal government. He has a tax law background, having practiced in the private sector for over two years following his graduation from law school. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School for Public Policy, regularly teaching a course on Winning Issue Campaign.

Minnesota Executive Director Jennifer DeJournett has appeared on local television and national political radio programs as a Republican political analyst and has been a speaker at conferences and training events. Jennifer has been a contributor to numerous local and state legislative campaigns offering data-driven advice regarding campaign strategy and micro-targeting, volunteer recruitment, fundraising best practices, and efficient and effective campaign operations.

Wisconsin Executive Director Nate Nelson was actively involved in student government, political campaigns, and student organization development at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. As a Leadership Institute graduate, Nate put those skills to use as an LI Field Representative, GOTV Field Representative for Governor Walker on his last County Executive race, State Senate campaign manager, and legislative assistant in the Wisconsin State Capitol. Before joining American Majority, Nate worked as Wisconsin’s NRA Campaign field representative, Americans for Prosperity field coordinator, Heritage Action for America’s regional coordinator and chairman and vice chairman of his county’s Republican Party.

Wisconsin Campus Director Scott Ellis volunteered for conservative candidates and in spring 2013 Scott studied with the American Studies Program and interned for Senator Ron Johnson in D.C. Scott continued his time with the Senator as the paid intern in the Milwaukee office. Scott attended Olivet Nazarene University and graduated in December 2013 with a political science degree. He was a member of the political science club, Capitol Hill Gang, as well as Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society.

AMERICAN MAJORITY NUMBERS THAT MATTER

1,212 In-person Training Events 50 States
43,663 Activists Trained 4,048 Candidates Trained

After losing both of his legs in an IED blast, Brian Mast decided that, after his recovery, he would continue his life of service by running for public office. This November, he used his AM training to win Florida’s 18th Congressional district by 40,000 votes.

After declaring her candidacy for Arizona’s State House, Maria Syms attended an AM training looking for actionable ideas to help her win. Her focus in her campaign, and now in her office, has been protecting children by implementing conservative principles.

Chris Koerber (California) won a city council seat with 1535 votes focusing primarily on a fundamental, get-out-the-vote door-knocking campaign. The second place finisher held 1290. Not only did his campaign receive the highest vote total of all three city council races, their efforts helped defeat a 20% city utility tax increase.

County Commissioner Lisa Weik (Minnesota) is currently in her sixth year on the commission board. The five-member county board sets the yearly $180 million budget and determines the annual county portion of the property tax levy. While in office, she opposed a local $0.005 sales tax increase and property tax increases, and supports rescinding a tax on transit projects.

Ted Lillie (Minnesota) won his state senate seat in 2010. While in office, Ted helped turn a $6.2 billion deficit into a surplus without raising taxes.

At age 29, State Senator Joseph Silk (Oklahoma) became the youngest member of the Oklahoma state senate. He ran a strategic grassroots campaign in 2014 and won with over 54 percent of the vote, becoming the first Republican in the history of Oklahoma to represent his district.

On 9/11, Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell (Texas) was the nearest survivor to the terrorist attack on the Pentagon and received the Purple Heart. Following recovery from his horrific injuries, Birdwell returned to Texas, attended an American Majority training, and won a tough election for state senator in 2010 against the establishment favorite. Brian has supported legislation strengthening eminent domain laws protecting landowners, strengthening oversight of river authorities, and serving Texas veterans and their families.

Jill Turgeon (Virginia), Vice Chair of Loudoun County School Board slashed $13 million from the county’s exorbitant education budget. With American Majority’s training, she gained the skills she needed to carry her campaign across the finish line: “American Majority helped me by laying out the basics of what needs to be done on a campaign. They showed me anyone can do it. It’s truly a grassroots approach – American Majority is training citizens, not politicians.”