Republicans respect and value hard work, believing every man and woman who aspires to live the American Dream deserves the opportunity to control their destiny through hard work, tenacity and a good heart. I’ve found this to be true from my own experience.
My family came to the United States from Taiwan when I was a boy, fleeing persecution and following their aspiration for a better life. My mother and father rolled up their sleeves and invested everything they had to open a restaurant in San Jose. Through years of scrubbing dishes and busing tables, I learned the value of hard work early in life. The lessons shaped my philosophy and planted the seeds of my conservatism. My experience since that time caused the seeds to grow into a desire to become a public servant, which is why I’m running as a proud Republican for the 10th Senate District, which includes the East Bay area counties of Alameda and Santa Clara.
Although this attitude of working hard to achieve great things is as a pillar of GOP ideals, it has become common for Republicans to sit on the sidelines and not compete in districts with strong Democrat majorities. I’m pleased to say, Republican leaders are working hard to change this and to ensure Republicans are widening the playing field and giving candidates in districts across California the tools they need to run good races, challenge Democrats and provide voters with an alternative to Democrat rule in the state legislature.
We know the state party is doing a tremendous job to grow the party. We also know GOP volunteers are steadfast in their commitment to the cause, working hard, walking precincts, going door to door to encourage voters to support our candidates. I’m blessed and appreciative for everyone who has taken the time to support my campaign. While this enthusiasm and hard work is central to our success as a party, we can build on our strengths and establish a longstanding foundation to help ensure good Republican candidates are prepared to run winning campaigns.
California Republicans are serious about rebuilding our party and leaders are supporting programs to strengthen the party from within.
One way Republican leaders are providing support is through California Trailblazers, a program designed to recruit, train and elect the next generation of Republican leaders. The program is critical to efforts to rebuild the party from the ground up. For everyone who believes in Republican principles and that one-party rule is bad for California, I urge you to support this important program.
While Democrats are fighting amongst themselves in Sacramento, Republicans are moving forward as a unified party, coordinating and working together to ensure candidates like me, who are running for state legislative office, are serving as good GOP stewards in communities throughout California.
If we want to win, we need to take the fight to Democrats. We need to go on offense, finding quality candidates in tough districts who are capable of running strong campaigns. Trailblazers is helping to fill this need by hosting regular training sessions, featuring experts in policy, communications and voter outreach. Success in almost anything begins with hard work and training, which is one of the goals of the Trailblazers program and a reason why I’m a strong program supporter.
Over the weekend, I joined with Republican candidates from across the state to participate in a daylong communications training in Orange County. The seminar brought together top media professionals to provide candidates one-on-one instruction on how best to connect and engage with voters. The seminar focused on how to deliver inclusive messages that unite, rather than divide, voters.
We learned from messaging and social media experts and talked with communications specialists about our individual races and aligning our values and principles with the most important issues to voters in our districts.
These practical trainings, on topics like communications, policy, grassroots outreach and fundraising, ensure Republicans up and down the state are equipped with the resources they need to run for office and bring the challenge to Democrats.
A successful Republican comeback will be challenging and it will require hard work, but if we remain committed and steadfast, the results will be unending with more Republicans elected to office.
Peter Kuo is a candidate for Senate District 10, which includes the cities of Santa Clara, Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, Cherryland, San Lorenzo, Fairview, Castro Valley, Ashland, and portions of San Jose and San Leandro.