Hamilton County’s Young Republicans are hoping for a resurgence — and they’re starting by bringing a big name to town for a fundraiser Thursday in Collegedale.
Riley Gaines, a conservative activist and native Tennessean who rose to fame speaking against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, is set to headline the event.
Gaines was a swimmer at the University of Kentucky when she competed against University of Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas, who became the first trans woman to win an NCAA championship. Gaines was also recently featured in a campaign advertisement for Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, which ran during the Paris Olympics.
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“She’s really articulate, really well-spoken, and I think she would be perceived well by people from teenagers to 60, 70, 80-year-olds,” Young Republicans Chair Mary Francis Hoots said in an interview. “I think everyone would care what she has to say.”