Kai Schwemmer, a 23-year-old rightwing influencer with a history of provocation, was recently appointed the political director of College Republicans of America (CRA). Schwemmer is also a prolific livestreamer whose past remarks—including suggestions that women are unsuited for public office and endorsements of “family voting”—sparked backlash when the Utah county clerk’s office hired him to reach younger voters. More than 80 prominent women in Utah signed a letter protesting his hiring.
CRA’s rapid growth and controversial ties
Founded in 2023, the CRA has grown quickly, now claiming 350 college chapters nationwide. Its president, Martin Bertao, defended Schwemmer’s appointment, saying the “CRA will never back down to the WOKE mob!” The group has increasingly cultivated ties with rightwing nationalist parties in Europe and has endorsed Donald Trump early in his 2024 campaign.
Earlier this year, a CRA club at the University of Florida sparked outrage when someone tied to the club was photographed making a Hitler salute. The CRA accepted the club as a member. Another CRA club at Georgetown University posted that Muslims “have no place in American society,” later deleting the message. The CRA told the Guardian that club’s “actions and sentiment were not wrong; Islam is not compatible with the West.”
Factional splits mirror national party tensions
The college Republican movement is split into three main national groups: the CRA, the National Federation of College Republicans (NFCR), and the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). Chaston Atkins, chair of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, said “as of right now, no one is getting recognition because of this infighting. It looks very childish.” The groups differ in their alignment with Trump; the CRA embraced him early, while others initially favored Nikki Haley.
Schwemmer told the Guardian that many of his controversial remarks were made in jest or taken out of context. Regarding attendance at a Nick Fuentes conference, he said: “I’ve been to libertarian conferences and events that leftwing people have put on, and I’ve entirely disagreed with what they’ve had to say.”
Radicalism vs. congressional influence
The CRA’s radical posture has helped it outflank moderate rivals, but some observers caution against extrapolating too much. “It can change in the blink of an eye,” Atkins said. Amy Binder, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins, noted that campus conservatism has shifted from civil discourse to provocation: “Anything that was more civil was really disparaged as being establishment – boring, out of fashion.”
After the uproar over Schwemmer’s hiring, the Utah county clerk’s office adjusted his job to a more junior role.
