Paul Gourley is former National Chairman of the

College Republican National Committee The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is a national organization for College Republicans — college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. The organization is known as an active recruiting tool f ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Gourley, a native of

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, was elected Chair of the College Republican National Committee in 2005. He won the chairmanship following a contested campaign against former California CR State Chairman Michael Davidson. The campaign focused on ethics and integrity issues surrounding the CRNC's fundraising activities and the organization's relationship with Response Dynamics in the previous years, while Gourley was the National Treasurer. His election and the preceding campaign received national press in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'' and other newspapers and news magazines, as well as a number of prominent conservative and liberal blogs. During his tenure, Gourley expanded the Field Representative program. Prior to his election as Chairman, Gourley's previous involvement in the College Republicans included time as the Vice-Chair of the South Dakota College Republican Federation, CRNC Field Representative in 2001 and 2002, and CRNC Treasurer from 2003-2005. He also chaired the youth campaign for then-Congressman

John Thune John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005, and as the Senate minority whip since 2021. A member of the Re ...

's US Senate race in 2002. He was named CRNC Ronald Reagan Activist of the Year in 2003.

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