More than 200 conservative millennials will converge on Washington, D.C., to hear Vice President Mike Pence and other key Republican leaders speak at Maverick PAC’s (MavPAC) annual Mavericks Conference Thursday through Saturday.

Representing more than 35 states and several countries, the millennials attending the MavPAC conference are emblematic of the Republican Party’s efforts to court young leaders and inspire fresh and enthusiastic interest in conservative values. Founded by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and a group of other conservatives in Texas in 2004, MavPAC reaches out to young professionals in their 20s and 30s who are pursuing business careers or contemplating entering politics.

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“If you read some websites, you would think the Republican Party is dead, and it’s a party that has just got old guys in it. But I think if you look at reality we have a very diverse party that’s growing younger and has a future ahead of us,” MavPAC National Co-Chair Fritz Brogan told LifeZette. “There’s so many different kinds of Republicans out there. I think it’s great that we can all kind of band together to help achieve change.”

Pence is set to deliver the keynote address at the conference on Saturday, and other prominent speakers and panelists include House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.), Will Hurd (R-Texas), Roger Williams (R-Texas), Scott Taylor (R-Va.), and former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), now a congressman. Speakers also include business leaders on the national and global levels, according to MavPAC’s press release Tuesday.

“I am looking forward to being a guest panelist for the Mavericks Conference 2017,” Rooney told LifeZette in an email. “This is a great opportunity to reach the next generation of leaders in politics, business and charity. It is incredibly important to engage this demographic, share ideas, and listen to concerns.”

“It is my hope that these future leaders will leave this conference with new energy and new ideas to take back to their communities, so that they can continue to expand their membership and express the conservative values that are the basis for good government and strong leadership,” Rooney added.

Brogan noted that MavPAC targets young Republicans from a variety of different backgrounds and from all points on the conservative spectrum. Because it isn’t a “policy PAC,” Brogan said MavPAC is able to reach out to groups that may feel like “outcasts” in the mainstream Republican community.

“I think one of the things we’re doing to build the bridge to millennials is we’re starting different subgroups within the PACS,” Brogan said, pointing to its PAC for women and its outreach to conservative members of the LGBT community.

“We’re reaching out to Republican gay and lesbian members. You’d be surprised — there’s many gay millennial Republicans who kind of feel like outcasts a little bit because the party hasn’t done a good job of reaching out to them. So we’ve kind of tried to reach out to that group,” Brogan said. “There’s just so many different conservative millennials out there. I think the more that we can band together and kind of realize that you’re not alone out there, that there’s a strong conservative voice.”

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Brogan hopes that MavPAC will also encourage Americans by reminding them “how many great millennials we have in the GOP,” despite the liberals’ frequent gloating about their own young, educated base. Although there are “so many great and wonderful” young Republicans running for office, Brogan noted that the mainstream media don’t like to acknowledge that.

During the 2016 election cycle, MavPAC donated more than $150,000 to Republican candidates — particularly those in tight races, Brogan noted, saying this was something “that we are very proud about.” Brogan also pointed out that many Americans in that age bracket have tighter resources. But MavPAC prides itself on helping young conservatives discover how they can get involved in politics and enter the fundraising scene.

“You know, if you’re a young professional and you give a hundred dollars to MaverickPAC or two hundred dollars, that’s a big chunk of your salary. So we take the money very seriously and we only give it to the tightest races,” Brogan said. “Our members are mostly in their 20s and 30s. They’re doctors and lawyers as well as small business owners. They are the kind of young professionals that want to get involved in politics.”

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MavPac, said Brogan, is focused on raising money to help elect Republican candidates while encouraging its members to consider running themselves.

“We’re pretty much the only organization that focuses on raising money and sort of teaching young professionals how to raise money. So many of our members have gone on to run for office. We have four or five members of Congress,” he said.

MavPAC held an event earlier in the year with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that cost just $25 to attend. Many of the attendees were interns and staffers on Capitol Hill.

“It’s a really neat way for young professionals who don’t have a ton of money to still be able to come and get that high VIP access to meet with sort of big-name speakers in the party,” Brogan said. (go to page 2 to continue reading)[lz_pagination]