| National Teen Age Republicans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| National Chairman | Arjun Sharda |
| Founded | 1960; 65 years ago (1960) InSouth Dakota |
| Ideology | Conservatism |
| Mother party | Republican Party |
| Website | nationaltars |
National Teen Age Republicans (TARs) is one of theyouth wings of the United StatesRepublican Party. The group's membership consists of Republicans from ages 14 to 17.
TARs has had a presence in all 50U.S. states and theDistrict of Columbia, with membership in the tens of thousands.[1] TARs is the first of the four official youth wings of theRepublican National Committee, along with the High School Republican National Federation,Young Republican National Federation andCollege 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 includeLawrence Lessig,[7]Paris Dennard,[8]Frank Luntz,[9] andRob 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.[citation needed]