Ashley Dalton, who was elected President of the Chicago Young Republicans (CYR) in early September, says a rapid surge in membership, social media engagement and international connections is transforming the organization into what she hopes will become a major force in Illinois Republican politics.
CYR is a political organization for 18- to 40-year-olds that works to boost Republican involvement in local, state and national politics.
“We’re going to make a difference because we see what’s happening in the world, in our nation, and we want to stop it,” Dalton told Chicago City Wire.
Dalton, 31, said energizing young voters is central to her mission.
“I think that it’s time for the youth to step up in Chicago, and I think a lot of the people joining CYR are ready for that,” she said.
Dalton said that energy shows in members actively looking for opportunities to make an impact.
“We are hosting fun events, but they are coming out and asking what they can do to support our party,” she said. “How cool is it that we now have 18- to 40-year-olds saying, ‘Let’s move the needle. How do we do it?’”
She added that many young conservatives feel disengaged living in a heavily Democratic city, where no Republican mayor has held office since William “Big Bill” Thompson in 1931.
“So many people have the ideology that, ‘Oh, my vote doesn’t matter because it’s a blue state, it’s a blue city,’” she said. “We have the ability to turn this state red. We have the ability to turn the city red.”
Since Dalton was elected in September, the group’s membership has spiked.
“We have had the most insane growth,” she said. “When I took over, we had 39 members. Now we’re pushing 350 in just three months.”
Dalton credited a renewed focus on events and digital outreach, particularly social media.
“Since my social media chair Casey has taken over, we have had 1.4 million views on Instagram in two months,” she said.
Dalton said the group has reached more than 620,000 social media accounts and gained roughly 5,000 new Instagram followers, while also surpassing 1.6 million views on TikTok.
“The trajectory of CYR right now is pretty incredible,” Dalton said. “We are growing at about 10 to 30 members a week.”
Dalton said turnout at the four events the CYRs have hosted since she took over has mirrored that growth.
“The first event had about 100 people and was a happy hour,” she said. “The second, called an Iced Coffee and Immigration Chat, I was unable to attend, but my membership chair and another board member led it. People came to a coffee shop to discuss ICE and immigration and share their views, with nearly 50 attendees. We then hosted a Bears watch party with about 150 people, followed by our Christmas trolley event, which drew around 85 participants. The growth is evident.”
She said members value the opportunity to gather without self-censorship.
“People are now okay with coming to these events,” Dalton said. “They feel safe. These are like-minded people. They’re fun and successful. You don’t have to censor yourself. You can go to a place and say what you want.”
Still, she said the CYRs offer a broad spectrum of ideology.
“We’re not the hard right, and we’re not just moderates, we include everyone, from moderates all the way to the conservative movement,” she said. “That’s what I love, our members have different beliefs and they get to discuss them with one another. Many members have told me how great it is to have similar yet differing views and engage in conversations rather than arguments, where they can truly hear each other.”
Dalton also highlighted growing ties beyond Chicago, including connections with young Republican organizations in New York City and abroad.
“We had the opportunity to have lunch with some Austrian and Vienna dignitaries from the EU and their parliament,” she said. “My international chair, another member, and I will attend a government ball in Vienna in February as honorary guests, which is incredible.”
She said Chicago’s international profile gives it unique potential.
“Chicago has such an ability to be a powerhouse when it comes to young Republicans,” Dalton said.
Dalton said in part she believes young Republicans are seeing a surge due to role models like as Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was assassinated on Sept. 10, while speaking at a university event in Utah at age 31. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Kirk became politically active as a teenager, founding Turning Point USA at 18 in a garage in Lemont, and later expanding it into a national organization with thousands of chapters and a $92 million budget.
Kirk was known for engaging young conservatives, advising President Trump, and hosting “The American Comeback Tour” to challenge what he described as liberal indoctrination in higher education.
“Charlie Kirk was so inspirational because I’m the same age as him, and I grew up watching him as he built his movement, so he was highly influential for me,” she said. “I also think that, beyond those events, seeing younger leaders in our party, like JD Vance, is inspirational for us.”
Dalton’s leadership coincides with a broader statewide push led by Evan Kasal, who became chairman of the Federation of Illinois Young Republicans in March.
Dalton was formally introduced in a video posted to X alongside Kasal, who announced her leadership while filming at Weeds Tavern in Chicago.
Under Kasal’s tenure, the organization has expanded from seven to 11 chapters statewide as part of what he has described as a “rebuild year” ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
Dalton says her path to leadership with the Chicago YRs came together quickly after moving to Chicago from Texas.
She initially tried to connect with the Chicago Young Republicans after relocating from Houston in June 2023, only to be contacted later that summer.
“I met with Evan, who is great, and presented what I think CYR could become,” Dalton said. “I printed a three-page document outlining the goals and initiatives I wanted to achieve. They immediately asked how I felt about becoming president, and I said I was ready to take on the challenge. It seems to have worked. I am still relatively new to the Chicago scene, having come from the South.”
While Dalton comes from what she described as a politically engaged family, she said she had not been directly involved in party politics until recently.
“I’ve always loved it,” she said. “I was one of those people that my friends always came to for political advice because I always kept up with the news.”
Looking ahead, Dalton said the organization is preparing a full rebrand and website relaunch in early January, along with long-term plans that include a major gala in 2027.
“The growth has been amazing, and I want to build this organization to rival the New York City club in how they influence the red movement in their city,” she said. “I want to achieve that eventually. We were only 500,000 votes away from flipping Illinois red for Trump. I don’t see why we can’t accomplish that in the next four, eight, or twelve years.”
In the 2024 election, Trump garnered 2,449,079 votes in Illinois, exceeding JB Pritzker’s 2022 vote total of 2,197,760 and highlighting the GOP’s ability to attract support beyond traditional party lines.
Dalton said she views the group’s recent growth as only the beginning, saying “there is nothing but up for us right now.”
“I am a blessed president of an organization,” she said.
