Long-time Republican leader reflects on her journey
Staff writer
It’s difficult to imagine that Rose Davidson, chairman of Marion County Republicans and Patriots of Liberty, ever was not interested in politics. But apparently, the interest started in her 20s.
That was 1984, when she was living with her husband, Greg, in Syracuse, Kansas.
“They had a sheriff election that was contested and recounted,” she said. “That’s when we realized how important one or two votes were.”
The couple moved to Wichita a few years later. Rose and Greg became Republican precinct committee members and part of a burgeoning pro-life movement.
Precinct committee members are responsible for electing politicians when a seat is vacated outside of an election cycle. In Wichita, and later in Marion, Davidson was surprised just how many seats became empty on a yearly basis.
“You wouldn’t think it’d be very often, but when [county administrator] Tina [Spencer] got promoted, we had to take care of her replacement,” she said. “When the treasurer died, we took care of that. And this is all within just the last few years. Every year or so, something happens.”
Rose and Greg moved to Marion in 1995, and became precinct committee members after another couple retired from their seats.
A few years later, Rose was elected vice chairman of the county Republicans.
The chairman at the time was a man, she recalls. Because rules mandate the positions be held by two different sexes, the Republicans needed a woman as vice chairman.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ll be vice chair. I don’t have to do anything,’” Davidson said.
In the fall of 2019, Davidson started the Trumpettes, consisting of her and three female friends. They staged a parade in support of Donald Trump.
The Trumpettes would fold after their namesake lost the 2020 election. In their place, Davidson began the “Proud Patriots,” which eventually was rebranded as “Patriots of Liberty.”
After Bob Brookens stepped down as chairman of the county Republicans in 2020, Davidson ran unopposed for the seat and was elected.
She was aloof about her rise up the political ranks.
“Nobody else would do it,” she said.
Now Davidson leads both the county Republicans and the Patriots, a group that, by her own admission, has its own political agenda.
“Our mission statement dovetails with the Republican Party’s platform,” Davidson said. “We are a conservative, pro-life, pro-Second-Amendment group.”
The Patriots sell Trump merchandise at their meetings and frequently parrot the president’s talking points regarding illegal immigration and Christian values.
At the same time, Davidson insists, the group is “not political.”
When pressed, she conceded that “politics is a part of it, but it’s also an educational group” and noted that state representative Scott Hill and senator Michael Fagg would be speaking at the Patriots’ next meeting.
Davidson previously worked for Koch Industries as an accountant, and these days runs Holy Family Parish at St. Mark Catholic Church.
Asked about similarities between working for a church and for a political party, Davidson said both were organizations without direct hierarchy.
“I’m working with volunteers,” she said. “Same way in government. You don’t have people working for you. You’re trying to get votes; you have to convince them.”
The county Republicans do not meet every month as the Democrats. This is intentional, Davidson said, so more people will agree to serve as precinct committee members.
“The reason I can get people to sign up is to say, ‘We’re not going to meet every month because there’s no reason to. We will meet when we have to fill a position.’” she said.
The local Republicans do not have lofty goals for this coming year, perhaps a result of their recent success in the 2024 presidential election, where voters drifted a percentage point more to the right than in 2020.
One goal is to recruit more precinct committee members, Davidson said. Only half of the roughly 60 Republican precinct seats are filled.
Asked whether she was pleased with Trump’s second term so far, Davidson said that time usually proved the man correct.
“He knows how to make a deal,” she said. “If I don’t like what he’s doing, I just sit there and wait.”
While the economy is still an issue, Davidson is confident it will improve. For the same reason, she isn’t worried about a blue wave in 2028.
“I think in the short term we’re going to suffer to get through,” she said. “Once a lot of the manufacturing gets moved back over here, I think we’re going to see a lot of good changes.”
One final question: Where does the Republican Party go after Trump? The president is 78, the same age as Joe Biden was when he took office four years ago.
Trump has floated the idea of running for a third term, though the Constitution prohibits it.
Davidson said it was too early to tell.
“I don’t think him having a third term would be a good thing because of his age,” she said. “Although right now, man, he’s got energy like crazy.”