The fallout continues after an investigation exposed racist, homophobic and antisemitic messages from a Young Republicans group chat. The Politico report caused widespread consequences for those behind the texts, from job loss to a push from the New York GOP to disband the group entirely.
Politico gained access to a private Telegram thread that, over several months, captured conversations among national and state Young Republican leaders spanning New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont.
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According to Politico, the chat included top aides in New York’s legislature, a sitting Vermont state senator and others seen as rising figures within the Republican Party.
Members of the group chat were part of the larger Young Republican National Federation, an organization with thousands of participants nationwide. The federation’s board condemned the messages as “vile” and called for those responsible to step down immediately.
“Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents,” the group wrote on X.
Bobby Walker, who leads the New York State Young Republicans, has acknowledged taking part in the group chat and issued an apology, though he has chosen not to resign from the organization.
In response to the messages, Republican officials are weighing major changes. The New York Times reports plans to dissolve the group’s existing charter and rebuild it under new leadership, a step Kansas Republicans have already taken.
The organization’s online footprint has largely disappeared, with both its website and social media accounts taken offline.
While Vice President JD Vance brushed off the behavior as immature joking by “young boys,” members of the Young Republicans group range from 18 to 40 years old.
Political response in New York
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has urged members of both parties to denounce the messages. She also used the report to criticize Republican leaders in the state, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, for their roles or responses.
Stefanik, a Republican, has previously hinted at a potential run against Hochul in New York’s next gubernatorial race.
“ We have a leader from the Republican Party in this state, the highest-ranking individual, who, in the backdrop of all this, calls our candidate for mayor, one of our candidates for mayor a ‘jihadist’ and a ‘terrorist,’ and then somehow says, ‘Oh, what they said these young Republicans was wrong,’” said Hochul.
