Decision from Derek Hall Tomorrow?

Sources say that a decision on whether to run for CRNC Chairman in 2007 may come from Kentucky's Derek Hall as early as tomorrow. Hall's name has been on the tip of many a College Republican's tongue in the past week as many wondered about the strength of the Draft Derek Hall movement. In the recent Truth Caucus poll asking which potential candidate one would support, Derek Hall came away with 42% of the vote, to the combined support of Real Reform principals Brian Siler and Brent Ludeman's 36% and Charlie Smith's 22%. Hall has always been seen as a reluctant candidate, but it appears that there is at least a decent-sized segment of grassroots College Republicans that would support his candidacy.

-In other CRNC elections news, Colorado's Charlie Smith has released a letter detailing a few of his proposals for reform within the CRNC. Smith states that his New Year's resolution for the CRNC is to bring reform to it, and several of the points he proposes mirror the platform outlined by Real Reform principals Brian Siler and Brent Ludeman, simply with slightly differed wording. If you would like to see the entire letter, please head over to Truth Caucus, where the letter is linked in its entirety.

-Finally, it appears that another Internet domain name has been purchased by the Smith Camp, and this time the website is NewCRNC, seen at www.newcnrc.org. The placeholder page that is currently posted is that of the Unite the CRNC logo from the previously purchased domains www.unitethecrnc.com and www.unitethecrnc.org. It was thought that the Unite the CRNC slogan was abandoned, but it has apparently found employ once again as a page marker. We will continue to follow the development of all domains purchased by the Smith Camp.

CRNC & College Republican News and Notes

-The Open CRNC Finances Project has been quite some time in the works, but University of Florida College Republican Mike Zagorsky now has a website up at www.crncopenfin.com. It appears, at first perusal, to be very well organized and researched. Reports are available for all financial matters of the CRNC, using data from IRS filings from July 2005 until last month. The data is available in terms of donor information, expenditures, and financial summaries. We will be following up with Mr. Zagorsky on this apparent unbiased project (it is simply numbers, after all), and hope to publish an interview or statement of some sort in the near future. If you would like to assist him in the project, you can contact him by email.

-It appears that the principals behind Real Reform are set to announce another key supporting state chairman in the next few days, but we will not reveal which state they are from due to sensitive sources. However, the state will not be all that big of a surprise. This will bring the total number to 17 sitting state chairmen who support the Real Reform platform.

-If you have yet to read it, suggested reading at Red State Rampage is the interview we did with incoming Chairman of the College Republican Federation of Virginia, Jarrett Ray. Chairman Ray looks to do great things for his state in the upcoming year, and, for now, is not picking any sides in the national struggle.

-One final comment on the Draft Derek Hall blog, at least for now. Personally, I think whoever is writing the blog is doing a fairly solid job of promoting Derek Hall, but it is still only one man. I think that he did a great job in leading Kentucky, as I have stated before, and I would definitely have no problem with him running for CRNC Chairman come spring 2007. However, I am reluctant to start calling this one blog a "movement" or say that it is gaining intensity. A Derek Hall candidacy is not a new revelation, so I will not report it as such. And I am not going to inflect momentum into such an effort unless it is actually there. I am here to report the news and comment on it, not make up what I want to be the news.

Draft Derek Hall for CRNC Chairman

Just a couple of quick thoughts on the Draft Derek Hall blog that popped up earlier in the week that I wanted to pass along:
-Derek Hall was considered a front-runner most of the first half of 2006, and a run for CRNC Chairman looked increasingly likely heading into the fall. Then Kentucky Chairman Hall resigned his post to run a local campaign, and talk of such a move quieted considerably. This talk of a Hall campaign is not a new phenomenon, though.
-Hall was always seen as a reluctant candidate, one who did not necessarily yearn for the spotlight. He got things done in Kentucky, doubling the number of chapters and running his own field program. However, even given his track record of success and seemingly endless likability, Hall has never been an eager candidate. A draft movement with strong support and deep roots is probably the best way to convince him to run.
-There are a couple of key relationships to keep in mind when it comes to looking at a Derek Hall for Chairman campaign. First of all, Hall is close with Missouri's Justin Smith, an endorser of Real Reform. His replacement in Kentucky, Brian Weber of Morehead State, is also a public Real Reform supporter. Finally, Hall is reportedly close with Ohio Chairman (and Real Reform kingpin) Brian Siler as well. It is hard to see him striking it out on his own if these three are not behind it.
-Here is the bottom line, as I see it currently: there may very well be a continued presence of a Draft Derek Hall movement within this CRNC campaign, but I seriously doubt Derek will end up at the top of a ticket. More likely, instead, is a spot a bit lower on a ticket, more than likely whatever Siler and Brent Ludeman are hashing out. My personal hope is that Hall gets involved once again, hopefully on a national level, so that he can bring his leadership to a wider audience of College Republicans.