I represent a dying breed of American. I am young, fiscally conservative, socially moderate, and Republican.

While some jokingly call me “brave” for publicly declaring my party affiliation, it is not something of which I am ashamed. I was born at the height of the Reagan era and grew up in New Canaan with an abiding appreciation for the independence, the right of self-determination, and the entrepreneurial spirit that characterizes American culture. These principles I value so greatly have traditionally resided at the core of what the Republican Party stands for.

Over the past several years, however, things gradually but consistently changed.

During the recent period when Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, we became a party of fiscal ambivalence, massive national debt, and larger government.

I began to wonder if I had been wrong to work on President Bush’s re-election campaign, Connecticut Victory 2004, or whether my views were even welcome in the party at all.

At an interview for a White House position, I recall being asked the most basic of questions: “Name two of the administration’s policies you agree with.” I couldn’t provide an answer.

But, it was the time I spent living overseas that helped me fully understand the negative perception many people around the world associated with America, and so many Americans associated with the Republican Party. Through my research, studies, and work as a Global Service Corps volunteer, I lived on five continents and had the opportunity to interact with a set of people representing a cross-section of the global community.

Under an administration that placed too little emphasis on listening and global outreach, our national reputation and brand suffered significantly. Businessmen I befriended in Tanzania described how they refused to work with U.S. companies. When pressed about the specific Americans they met and disliked, their tone changed and they eagerly underscored that they loved all of the Americans they actually knew. Students I played soccer with in Mongolia sang Will Smith songs in broken English, but lamented the fact that they were falling out of love with the very country that had freed them from the grip of the Soviet Union.

Armed with this new understanding, I was ready for 2008 and the election it would bring. Finally, we would have the opportunity to return to our core beliefs of individual responsibility and limited government, while showing the world that robust diplomatic relations are not something Americans in any party consider a nicety of the past.

The day after flying home from England, where I had completed my master’s degree in Global Governance and Diplomacy at Oxford University, I caught the early train to Washington to begin serving in the War Room of the McCain campaign. I was chomping at the bit, ready to bring fresh ideas and energy to the timeless values that meant so much to me. Before long, however, it was made abundantly clear that my thoughts and ideas were of little interest or consequence to those higher up.

Something was wrong and it was obvious. While the Obama campaign, and Democrats in general, had fostered the enthusiasm, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship of their young contributors (i.e. most outreach strategists and speech writers were in their 20s), Republicans had become rigid and stale.

This was evident not only in our campaign efforts but also our policies. We were so intent on achieving the simplest majority, 50% plus one votes, that we drifted from the principles we espoused just shortly before. While maneuvering to the areas where polls indicated public opinion resided, we alienated our base and confused those we were so eager to persuade.

Ultimately, we became a factory for uninspired answers to unprecedented challenges. Energy and dynamism were conceded to the Democrats in a wholesale manner.

Throughout the 2008 election we had been sailing with bare spars and sustained crippling shots to our hull. Independents found a home in the Democratic Party, moderate Republicans had largely jumped ship, but, perhaps most critically, we had lost young voters overwhelmingly.

In a normal election cycle, I wouldn’t be too concerned that a new, unique, young, and “cool” candidate won the 18 to 24 year-old voting block. I also wouldn’t be worried that the Democrats would take this group generally. Young voter turnout is usually low anyway, and as they grow older, the majority will start realizing how the world works, see their hard earned money evaporate under a burdensome regimen of taxation, and come to their senses.

The times we are entering, however, are far from normal. There has been a rupture in the electoral landscape - a paradigm shift that requires a new perspective and new thinking to match it. The losses we suffered across the board among younger voters are likely not a cyclical event, but an indication of a permanent ideological transition.

Millennials have grown up in a world far different from that of their parents. They are just as likely to interact with someone on another continent as someone down the street. They are increasingly communitarian and view themselves more as “global citizens” and less as exclusively American. They have been fed a steady diet of “empathy” and “tolerance” in school, and these values have been reinforced through norms diffused from Western Europe.

With our inaction and absence of initiative in reaching out to these voters and soon-to-be voters, we are sowing the seeds for the loss of the next generation of political battles wherein American independence, exceptionalism, and - potentially - sovereignty will be challenged.

This past election cycle provided us with a clear mandate for change and a new kind of Republican leadership.

We need someone to answer the call - a person who will simultaneously stand up for our best traditions, reach out to moderates, and engage young voters. We need a leader who will send a message that Republicans have not surrendered any part of this nation and that no congressional seat in New England will any longer be safe for Democrats.

After receiving overwhelming encouragement from local officials, business leaders, members of the community, and Republican Town Committees, I am confident that young and more experienced Americans alike are hungry for a newcomer that will advance the values that have served them well for generations. In acknowledgement of their support, I am stepping forward to provide such leadership and deliver that very message. I will shortly be filing forms with the Federal Election Commission to establish an exploratory committee to formally examine running for Congress from Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District.

At the heart of my campaign will be a set of principles I believe are central to our beliefs and which I will work tirelessly to promote: individual responsibility, limited government, self-determination, fairer taxation, freedom of enterprise, environmental stewardship, affordable healthcare, robust civil society, unapologetic national defense, strong diplomatic relations/global outreach, energy independence, and reform of Washington.

The time for bold action and leadership is now. Let’s work together to bring young Republicans, and Republicans of every stripe, off the endangered species list.

For more information on Will Gregory, email w.r.gregory@gmail.com 

WilliamRGregory.com  -  Will Gregory for Congress

 Will Gregory born in Stamford and raised in New Canaan, Connecticut he is a  graduate of Gettysburg College where he studied anthropology, sociology, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. In his third year as an undergraduate, Will attended Oxford University to study international relations. Presently, Will serves as the Executive Director of The Mentis Foundation - an education-based non-profit organization that distributes scholarships to underprivileged youths with dyslexia and serves as a resource to the public regarding this learning disability.