On March 29, 2025, Knox County Republicans voted to replace their tired and ineffective GOP leadership with a leadership they hoped would be more active, vocal, and results-driven. Those of us on the conservative side hoped for leadership that would be more open to true conservative values. Two months into the current administration, we need to ask the question: What has the new GOP leadership accomplished? It’s time for a report card for the Knox County GOP Leadership Team.

If you’ll remember, the new GOP leadership consists of Martin Daniel as chairman, Kyle Nahrebne as vice chair, Barry Beeler as secretary, Martin Ammons as treasurer, and Christy Gentry as vice treasurer. Recently I sat down with Kyle Nahrebne, vice-chair of the GOP, to discuss the things the new team has accomplished. I think you’ll be impressed with what this group has done in such a short time.

If you’ll remember, one of the problems facing the GOP was their lack of a consistent and effective online presence. That is changing. The team is hard at work to ensure the Knox County GOP has a strong online presence.

Kyle is currently in the process of working with a web designer/developer to design a more interactive and user-friendly website for the Knox County GOP.

In addition, the Knox County GOP once again has active accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and X. If you’ll remember, these accounts were active under Chairman Herrera but were not continued under Chairman Burkhardt. They are also looking at a scheduling app that will allow them to post more consistently and effectively.

Another problem facing the leadership team was the lack of a physical office. Chairman Daniel and his team have alleviated that problem by opening an office at 5731 Lyons View Road, Suite 112. The office is open Monday–Friday from 10 am – 2 pm and on Tuesday from 11 am-3 pm. There will be a grand opening, but the date has not been determined. Leadership will post information about that event on social media as it becomes available.

The team was able to open that office partly due to Martin Daniel and his team’s fundraising abilities. They have raised approximately $77,000 in the first eight weeks, due in part to a $20,000 matching donation.

One of the more exciting developments is the fact that the Knox County Republican Party now has a Republican candidate in all five City Council districts. Due to the changes in the way Knoxville votes for city council, it was absolutely vital that there be Republican candidates in every single race.

For the first time in years, we have a good chance of electing Republicans to the Knoxville City Council. Congratulations to the GOP leadership team for accomplishing this. 

And finally, Chairman Daniel and his team are working feverishly to promote the Republican Party. They held a community outreach attended by 40 participants. In addition, they hosted a booth at the April 26 & 27^th gun show. Most recently, they hosted a Town Hall meeting at Buddy’s Banquet Hall with approximately 120 Republicans attending.

But that’s not all. There are plans for the GOP to participate in the Farragut July 4^th parade and Freedom Fest on October 4. In addition, one of the new committees is the New 2 Knox Welcome Committee, headed by Joey Ruffalo. (By the way, this committee needs volunteers.)

While all these things they’ve accomplished are wonderful, I believe the most important consideration is whether Martin Daniel and his team can bring together both sides of the Party. After all, it took both sides of the Party to get this team elected.

Chairman Daniel does seem to be working with the conservative side of the party. Several conservatives have been appointed to various committees.

But Chairman Daniel’s job going forward is not an easy one. He has two separate factions: the conservative group, which believes in small government and has a more Biblical world view. He also must work with a more moderate to liberal group that seems willing to go with the status quo even when it means not necessarily following conservative values. Many times, there seems to be little difference between these “Republicans” and the more moderate of the Democratic Party.

While the more moderate group tends to have most of the money, the conservative group is more “boots on the ground”. They make up for their lack of funding with hard work. I hope that Chairman Daniel continues to appreciate the value that both groups bring to the Republican Party and is not overly swayed by the big donors on the more moderate side.

Time will tell. We conservatives have been disappointed time and time again. We go to the ballot box and cast our vote, hoping for someone who will adequately represent us. All too often, we have found that once candidates get into office, they cease to pay attention to us…the ones that got them elected. We now seem irrelevant and uneducated as to how “things are done”.

As I look at the new GOP leadership, I have high hopes. But I’ve had high hopes before, only to have them dashed to the rocks and shattered in a zillion pieces. I hope that’s not what is going to happen with our current GOP leadership.

Martin Daniel and his leadership team have a great opportunity to build the Knox County Republican Party into a party that is respected throughout Tennessee and even the nation. It will be a balancing act and if Daniel can achieve it, he will have achieved something that no one in Knoxville has done for years.

It’s a balancing act that must be accomplished by working with both factions on an equal basis…realizing what each segment of the Party has to offer and working with both to come up with solutions that will represent both segments of the Party. At times, it may be acting as a peacemaker. At other times, it may mean making some difficult decisions.

The Knox County Republican Party holds much promise if led by a chairman who can equally respect and work with both sides of his party. If that doesn’t happen, I’m very concerned that the Republican Party in Knox County will devolve into a group of bickering, backbiting, and ineffective politicians who will consistently lose elections until Knox County turns blue.

It’s Time for Conservatives to Give This New Team a Chance

But the responsibility does not lie with Chairman Daniel and his team alone. If conservatives are unwilling to take action…to volunteer, and dare I say, financially support the party, then we must share in the blame when Knox County turns blue.

I know it is a big lift for conservatives to trust the Republican Party again.   We have been betrayed so many times. But here is my challenge to you, my fellow conservatives. Make your voice heard by clicking here and volunteering to help with the Republican Party.

Continue working with your Knox County Conservative Republican group so that, as a block, we will have more influence. (And if you’re not a part of a KCCRTN group, click here for more information.) In addition, find candidates that share your values and then support them financially and on the campaign trail.

In summary, while we are counting on Chairman Daniel and his team to do their part, our part is to let them know that we want to help.  We want to be part of making the Knox County Republican Party a formidable opponent to the Democratic Party’s goal of turning Knox County blue.

As we attempt to grade this leadership team on their efforts so far, I’d say they’ve earned a B+. I’m hoping that when we visit this topic again I can bump them up to an A.

Addition after publication: The open house for the new Party office is Friday, May 30 at 5:30pm.