CCR Celebrates 60th Anniversary

California College Republicans (CCR) was founded on August 29, 1963, and it continues to provide volunteers and activists that advance the conservative movement on our college campuses and throughout California.

60 years ago today, California College Republicans (CCR) was created to serve as the college wing of the California Republican Party.

David Chan, chairman of CCR and chairman of the Alameda County Republican Party, says the occasion is an important milestone for the Republican Party.

"California College Republicans is now one of the nation's oldest and continuously active College Republican state federations — our CRs have been hard at work serving the conservative movement for 60 years, and we look forward to 60 more," said Chan.

‍‍CCR was founded on August 29, 1963 by Randolph Siefkin, Harold Phillips, William Nielsen, William Dillon, and Pete Wilson (who went on to serve as a US Senator from 1983 to 1991 and Governor of California from 1991 to 1999). Formed as a break-off group of the California Young Republican Federation, the new CCR aimed to target student and student-aged Republicans — while the Young Republicans more broadly focused on Republicans aged 18-40.

The organization began with 1,800 members, and the original 1963 mission statement of CCR read:

The specific and primary purposes for which this corporation is formed are to support the Republican party, to provide pleasure and recreation for the members, to encourage constructive thinking among young people and the development of their interest in good government, and to unite young people in the spirit of good fellowship to achieve these objectives.

CCR has produced many prominent republican and conservative activists over its 60 years, with alumni such as Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Congressmen Kevin Kiley, Ed Royce, and Dana Rohrabacher; political commentator Ben Shapiro; RNC Committeeman and husband of Congresswoman Michelle Steel, Shawn Steel; Republican Party of Orange County Chairman Fred Whitaker; and many more. The organization has also hosted many notable speakers, including Gov. Pete Wilson, Gov. George Deukmejian, Lt. Gov. Edwin Reinecke, Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, Rep. Barry Goldwater Jr., Milo Yiannopoulos, Amb. Richard Grenell — and President Gerald Ford.

Then the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ford gave a speech to the 1967 CCR convention in Santa Barbara, stating: "We must build the Republican Party ... We can do that if college Republicans here and throughout the Nation will rise to the responsibility that is theirs--the challenge to go out into the wilderness of young Democrats and come back with some scalps. The future of the Republican Party, ladies and gentlemen, is in your hands."

Besides hosting speakers, the CRs have also been instrumental in Republican election victories and in campus activism over the years. In fact, California College Republicans members have made national news for a variety of events, including selling pro-masculinity t-shirts — one of which was worn by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, hosting affirmative action bake sales, exposing campus admin bias, and more.

"But all that amazing history would not exist without the hard work of our members and the support of our Republican community," said Chan.

That's why Chan and the College Republicans are asking for contributions to help keep the organization going for another year.

"Every penny helps us last another year and continue to fight the Left on campus and in our communities — and raise up new conservative leaders in our party," Chan concluded.