A final hurrah before the election: Cass County Republicans Party host their fall fundraiser
Republicans from Cass County and further met Saturday night for their annual fall fundraiser and one last push before the election this year. The night saw a live auction, a dinner, guest speakers and more.
Multiple representatives from Cass County, including District 1 Commissioner Ruth Baker, District 2 Commissioner Mike Stajduhar, Clerk Destry Richey and Superior Court II Judge Lisa Swaim met at State Representative for District 23 Ethan Manning's property, Gingerhaven, for the event. Logansport Deputy Mayor Jacob Pomasl also made an appearance, along with State Senator Stacy Donato, State Representative for District 38 Heath VanNatter and Congressman Jim Baird, among others.
After everyone had sat down for dinner, Cass County Republican Chair David Richey invited Baird up for a speech, where he briefly discussed the upcoming election and how important it is that they get out and vote.
"We need to tell our neighbors and friends how important this election is and make sure that... they get to their polls...," Baird said in his speech.
The night's keynote speaker, Chairman of the Indiana State Republican Party Randall Head, discussed three points in his speech: how lucky he is, how lucky they are and that they have to go vote. He begun with talking about his experiences in politics, saying how when he and Swaim moved from Indianapolis to Cass County, their lives changed for the better. He thanked and acknowledged multiple people he has met throughout the years.
"... I tried to think about some of the things I never could have done if we'd stayed in Indianapolis," Head said in his speech. "And they're too long to list here, but this community has been so good for us and provided us with so many opportunities."
To illustrate his second point of how lucky they are, Head shared stories of when he and Swaim went to Omaha Beach a few years ago, along with his experiences when he went to Bastogne in Belgium. He discussed the sacrifices soldiers and veterans had made throughout the years that got the country to where it is now.
For his last point, Head said in a press release from Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales, 90% of Hoosiers who are eligible to vote have registered. He then asked the audience why then, even in a presidential year, only 54% of people vote, saying it is a basic part of being an American citizen.
"I bet the French and the Belgians and the Dutch under German occupation at the time wished they could have voted on their leaders instead of putting up with what was being pressed down upon them," Head said in his speech. "And yet, we're raised today and we take it all for granted, to think it's always this way, we're always going to have these freedoms. But we haven't always have. And this is remarkable, what we have and what we take for granted in our daily lives as Americans. And our government is not perfect, there's a lot wrong with it that we need to improve. But it's still the greatest in the world because of the sacrifices of so many people who have come before us."
Like Head and Baird, Richey also briefly touched upon the importance of voting after Head concluded his speech. He encouraged the audience that when they go to vote to take other people with them and to vote early.
The night then ended with both a live auction and a silent auction. Attendees could bid on items like a vacuum, holiday wreaths, loins and ribs from Tyson, a family membership for the Y, a night at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis and a night at Inntiquity Inn.
Richey said the fundraiser went great and was well attended. He thought both guest speakers were great, with them not even knowing that Baird was going to make an appearance. Richey described these fall fundraisers across the county as final pushes before the election.
"A lot of our local schools had their homecomings this weekend and everybody had their pep session before the games Friday night," Richey said. "This is our pep session before the election, this is kind of the big pep session, 'hey, let's go, let's cheer on our team, let's win, go team.'"
