| National Teen Age Republicans | |
| Colorcode: |
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| Founded: | In South Dakota |
| Ideology: | Conservatism |
| Mother Party: | Republican Party |
National Teen Age Republicans (TARs) is one of the youth wings of the United States Republican Party.
TARs has had a presence in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with membership in the tens of thousands.[1] TARs is the first of the four official youth wings of the Republican National Committee, along with the High School Republican National Federation, Young Republican National Federation and College Republicans.[2]
The oldest recorded TAR group was formed in 1960 in South Dakota.[3]
The first national conference was held in Washington D.C. at Trinity College on June 16–21, 1969,[4] and ever since National TARs has hosted an annual Teen Age Republican Leader Conference (TLC).[5] Following his 1980 election victory, Ronald Reagan held a reception for delegates to the TLC, where he stated that TARs "had a significant impact in the outcome of the last election...you walked the precincts, you licked stamps, stuffed envelopes, got senior citizens to the polls, and babysat while mothers voted...what you did [made] the difference between winning and losing."[6]
Ex-TARs members include Lawrence Lessig,[7] Paris Dennard,[8] Frank Luntz,[9] and Rob Bishop.[10]
In April 2022, certain state chapters left the National Teenage Republicans and created a new organization, The High School Republican National Federation, a student-led alternative.