There's a strong argument to be made that Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk are the two most significant conservative figures in the country over the past decade, and New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli clearly has been taking notes.
In an age of screens and isolation, Trump and Kirk have always understood how powerful actual human presence and interaction are - and that was on full display Friday night in this South Jersey beach town.
DAVID MARCUS: FOR JACK CIATTARELLI, SOUTH JERSEY AND VOTER ENTHUSIASM ARE KEYS TO VICTORY
By my count, about 800 people showed up on the boardwalk. Among them was 24-year-old Alex, in a gold MAGA hat and sunglasses.
"It just kind of taps into the humanity of it all," he told me, adding, "When we are battling on the internet, we forget the kind of common ground that can exist."
Diane and Renee were out with their husbands at the event, and Diane told me of live rallies: "I feel like it brings us together more, and it makes us feel like, 'Let's go!'"
Dominic, a schoolteacher in his 50s, told me he's often frustrated by the woke education agenda. He credited Kirk with using live events to "ignite something in the youth of America."
It wasn't just voters but also candidates who saw the value in the in-person rally. Billy Prempeh, who lost the race for Congress in New Jersey's 9th District last time and is running again, told me, "President Trump had the first Wildwood rally here, and it was a massive success."
As far as issues went, energy prices were top of mind, as were taxes and crime. But there was an electricity that transcended any particular policy concern and turned the event into an urgent call for "taking New Jersey back."
Inside the Seaport Pier, just before the entrance to the boardwalk stage, voters chatted at tables, enjoying a buffet courtesy of CapeGOP, which organized the event and provided its amiable host, Mike Donahue.
The Turning Point USA table - Kirk's most tangible legacy - was abuzz. Its young organizers were crafting plans to sweep across schools in the Garden State.
It was fun, it was festive, it was hopeful.
These days, when you get more than 100 Democrats together in the same place, things tend to start catching on fire - often American flags. But for the GOP, these events aren't just peaceful; they're genuinely joyous.
This image of the happy conservative warrior was personified by everyone I talked to, and that image of the GOP plays extremely well across the country.
In fact, another part of the secret sauce that made Trump and Kirk's rallies so successful is that they often took place in parts of the country where relatively few people venture. Trump preferred pulling up to a small-town airport for a rally rather than a big city. Kirk's events spanned so-called flyover country.
There's no escaping the feeling that one is at a tent revival at conservative political rallies these days. God is on the lips of many speakers and attendees - unabashedly so - not as something to be tolerated but celebrated.
In the post-COVID world, Republicans across the nation would be wise to lean hard into these live events - with music, food and maybe even a couple of beers.
It's not just the 800 people who actually came to Wildwood on Friday who are important here - it's everyone they'll tell about it. It's the kind of enthusiasm that turns one voter into many voters.
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Though Ciattarelli roused the crowd admirably, it was GOP get-out-the-vote guru Scott Presler, with his dark, flowing mane, who drew the most attention from the crowd and fielded the most selfie requests. Those are incredibly valuable voters.
Charlie Kirk understood, and President Trump understands, that live events, rallies and simply being in one another's good company mean an enormous amount to people. As Democrats succumb more and more to angry cursing, the fun of the GOP is a strong counterpoint.
Trump has floated the idea of a midterm national convention next year. Not only should Republicans do this, but it should be a blowout - a family-friendly amusement park of the American dream, something the whole country can watch in awe.
One month after Kirk was assassinated at his event in Utah, the speakers and the crowd on the boardwalk this weekend stood unbowed and unafraid of those who wish them harm. They stood for their party, their country and Charlie Kirk - and also for Jack Ciattarelli, who hopes to convince voters that a happy conservative warrior can lead the Garden State yet again.
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