PHILADELPHIA—Republican and Democrat presidential candidates were all invited to speak at the Moms for Liberty national summit in Philadelphia, organizers say, and five Republicans said yes.
The summit took place June 29 through July 2 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, and the candidates who spoke were, in order of appearance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former President Donald Trump on June 30, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on July 1.
The rare opportunity to see so many candidates in person, so close together, gave attendees a chance to compare them and get a feel for who they would support in the primary.
Gathered around a table, seven people who attended the conference talked politics the evening of July 1, assessing what they had seen and how they believe the Republican primary may play out.
The Epoch Times asked them to rank the five candidates from 1 to 5, with one being the candidate they are most likely to vote for if the primary were held today, then ranking their second choice and continuing down the line.
‘Old School’ Hutchinson
While they did not agree on the top pick, six of the seven agreed on their least favored candidate of the weekend: Hutchinson.
“He’s too old school and he didn’t have the energy others had,” said one participant, a 60-year-old woman who didn’t share her name for fear of losing her job. She said she didn’t know Hutchinson was running until he appeared on the speaker list for the event.
Several others in the group said they had not been aware of him either, are not sure why he is running, and that he should save his money and drop out.
Hutchinson vetoed a transgender treatment bill that would have banned hormone treatment and surgery on minors, said David Warner, 36, Moms for Liberty chapter chair in Horry County, South Carolina. Gender ideology was a top topic throughout the summit. Many joined the movement because of the explosion of gender transition, sexual content, and grooming happening at schools.
“I’m sick and tired of the indoctrination of our children,” said David Zook, 20, legislative chair of the Moms for Liberty chapter in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. “I see my generation being destroyed by today’s woke culture. When you have school counselors telling kids that they are born in the wrong in body, they need to be fired and kicked out.”
Zook is not yet a parent, but said he is thinking of the future.
When Hutchinson, spoke with the press after his speech at the summit, he said he does have supporters and he is trying to meet the Republican National Committee’s Aug. 23 debate requirements of having donations from at least 40,000 unique national contributors, with at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in more than 20 states or territories.
Haley Says to Send a Woman
With Hutchinson ranking fifth for those around the table, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, was ranked fourth.The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley often mentions she is a “brown woman” who has broken some glass ceilings.
“We’re not an affirmative action party, don’t come to us with ‘I’m the first woman of color,’” said Leslie Sabamovich, 35, chair of the Moms for Liberty chapter in Shasta County, California.
While some said they appreciated Haley’s work in the United Nations and that she is a good speaker, she is running with Trump’s policies, such as returning to the “Remain in Mexico” border policy.
“We have to have a new generation of leaders. We can’t go back. We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got new problems and new solutions,” Haley said in her speech at the summit. “Don’t complain when we get to the general election if you don’t play in this primary. And personally, I think to save the country, we need to send a bad-ass Republican woman to the presidency.”
The comment got enthusiastic applause, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to support.
The Top Three
The top three candidates in the table discussion were DeSantis, Trump, and Ramaswamy, in that order, but with DeSantis edging Trump out by just one ranking point.Some had a hard time deciding who to put on top. Others were certain.
Katie Gorman, 40, of the Moms for Liberty chapter in Shasta County, California, believes these three will be the last three standing after the August debate, and other candidates will quickly fall away. Some may be running just to be considered for cabinet positions, she said.
Most at the table ranked Ramaswamy as their No. 3 pick, with Trump or DeSantis ranked above him.
But Betty Lopez, 75, and Allison Shipp, 41, mother and daughter from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, ranked Ramaswamy No. 1, and they say seeing him speak in person made a difference.
“He moved up for me because of his common sense and solutions,” Shipp said. “He’s talking about what he is going to do and how he is going to do it. He is being transparent, and if he is not, we can hold him accountable. He’s more my personality. Trump is a little rough around the edges for me.”
Shipp appreciated that Ramaswamy not only said he would dissolve the U.S. Department of Education, but that he described how he would do it.
Ramaswamy is unproven, said the anonymous woman at the table. She ranked Trump at No. 1 and Ramaswamy at No. 4.
“I’d like to see Ramaswamy maybe 12 years from now,” Sabamovich said. “But not now. We need someone with more guts. That’s why it’s Trump over DeSantis.”
Ramaswamy, 37, said in his speech that he and his wife thought about waiting 20 years to run, when their children are grown up.
“I don’t think we have 20 years. That’s the reality. If I’m elected president, I will leave the office in January of 2033,” Ramaswamy said. “These kids will be entering high school around that time, and I'll tell you this, if we haven’t fixed our country by then, I think there’s a grave risk that we don’t have a country left. And so when we think about our responsibility as parents, it is to create the country that allows us to live our version of the American dream. This may be our last, and only chance, to pass that on to this next generation.”
Just two at the table ranked Trump as their top pick. One ranked him third the rest ranked him second.
Three people ranked DeSantis for top pick, three ranked him as No. 2 with the remaining person picking DeSantis as third.
They agreed that any of the top three would be acceptable.
Then the table had a brief discussion that has been heard around many Republican tables.
“Wouldn’t it be great if Trump and DeSantis were running mates?” someone said, and for a moment, folks sat and savored the thought.
“Yeah. But it will never happen,” came the consensus. Both candidates seem so strong that it is hard to imagine either one taking the second slot as vice president.
“It will come down to if the Republicans can get their act together and pick the right candidate at the right time,” Lopez said. “And if one of those candidates goes independent, it is going to kill the whole process and the Democrats will win.”
