PITTSBURGH — Scott Pressler is a great guy.
“I'm a big boy,” the gay conservative political activist, 6 feet 5 inches tall, 200 pounds, with long brown hair cascading 22 inches down his back, told the Post.
Mr. Pressler again proved himself to be something of a political giant this year.
After losing Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes in 2020, President-elect Donald Trump flipped the Keystone State by 120,000 votes in November.
That's because Pressler's nonprofit Early Vote Action is implementing the Trump campaign's “vote swamp” strategy in Pennsylvania, registering Republican voters to vote early by mail and “by any means necessary.” This is in no small part due to the fact that we were able to do this. group's Website Read.
“I didn't invent the wheel. I just stole the tools of the Democratic Party and used them to elect Republicans,” Pressler said with a laugh.
Pressler founded EVA in the wake of the 2022 red wave that never came. This spring, he zeroed in on the group's efforts to win back Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes against Trump in 2024.
And the Virginia activist personally contributed to the cause by purchasing a home in Beaver County, west of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Pressler led an army of volunteers who made phone calls, wrote postcards and knocked on doors with 74 peak field staff based on data, and said his team had registered 50,000 Republicans and long-time Democrats. He said he has quickly increased the number of Republicans by turning two counties he had supported (Bucks and Lucerne) red in voter registration. Vote in increments of 10 points.
On Election Day, Trump recaptured Erie, Northampton, Monroe and Bucks counties that Biden had captured in 2020.
Pressler proudly demonstrated to conservative “naysayers and pessimists” who are skeptical about mail-in voting that Republicans can beat Democrats at their own game.
And he enjoyed their defeat.
“You'll hear the Democratic voice that there was no ground war. Baby, we beat your registration every week. We switched your county from blue to red. And we're going to beat you because of Donald J. Trump. delivered the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said.
“Put 'baby' in there. That's important,” he added.
In case you didn't realize it, Pressler is a personality.
A sleek mane, cowboy boots and a V-neck that reveals a hairy chest have more than 2 million people on social media wondering if Pressler resembles Aragon and the Founding Fathers from The Lord of the Rings. If you look at his followers, you'll believe it. (Pressler claimed to the Post that he credits X user @6hsense for the best AI-generated renderings he shares on his X and Instagram accounts.)
Pressler cultivates the myth with freewheeling humor.
“You wouldn't know how old I am because I look so young and fresh,” he said, refusing to reveal his age, although Wikipedia narrows it down to 36 or 37.
He regularly posts selfie-style videos rallying volunteers, and recently infuriate Republicans It condemns Bucks County commissioners who admitted to illegally counting Democratic Sen. Bob Casey's votes.
It's this passion for provocation that led Pressler to organize the 2017 “March Against Sharia” and the “Stop the Steal” protests that claimed President Biden won the 2020 election through mass voter fraud. It has helped increase the political influence of the group, which has helped attract crowdfunding and public attention. Elon Musk donated $1 million to his political action committee in August.
That's not surprising, considering what goes viral. ”Scott” was trending on X for 13.5 hours when Trump won the election. This is the second longest trending search after “Latinx.”
But before Mr. Pressler gained notoriety, he was a dog walker after graduating from George Mason University during the Obama era and unable to find a job.
Inspired by the conservative politics of his father, a retired Navy captain, and wanting to “be the solution,” Pressler volunteered for his first campaign in 2013, fell in love with the sport, and in 2016 joined the Virginians. He helped defeat Hillary Clinton and attended President Trump's speech. 2019 Presidential Social Media Summit.
“I went from the doghouse to the White House,” he likes to say.
And Trumpworld focuses on Pressler in 2024 as Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump calls Pressler 'my friend' at homecoming rally for former president who was nearly assassinated in Butler, Penn. invited to the stage.
Mr. Pressler didn't know he was going to speak, but he took to the podium in shorts and used his platform to appeal to his target audience of unionists, hunters, fratsmen and sororities. Sister, and most memorably courted the Amish.
“We protect your raw milk, your dairy, your farm, your school choice, your religious freedom, your economic ability to have 10 beautiful children per family,” he said in a statement. He spoke to the cheers of millions of people.
A self-proclaimed populist, Pressler shamelessly pandered to groups he deemed unlikely to register or vote for any reason.
Many Amish were getting married on Tuesdays (including Election Day) and elders learned they were refraining from voting altogether, encouraging many to vote early or vote in person by mail.
His relentless efforts to register Pennsylvania's 930,000 hunters became an AI-generated meme.
And by working with volunteers in the field and updating them weekly with their latest registration numbers, we energized them and made them feel like their progress had purpose.
“We made voter registration sexy in Pennsylvania,” he said.
And being gay has caused problems in conservative politics; harassing comments At times, Pressler said he is proud that his work ethic has earned him the respect of complete strangers.
“When a super muscular, alpha, manly guy walks up to you, shakes your hand and says, 'I love your work, I couldn't be more proud of you than if you were my son.' I always love it,” he said.
But, as cheesy as it may sound, he said it's all because of his parents.
“I am who I am today because of my father and mother.”
