RICHARD A. VIGUERIE pioneered the use of direct mail marketing/advertising in politics.
Viguerie transformed American politics in the 1960s and ’70s by pioneering the use of direct mail fundraising in the conservative political and ideological spheres. This allowed conservatives to go around the liberal media blockage right into people’s homes. He used direct mail marketing/fundraising to help lead, build, and grow the conservative movement, which then elected Ronald Reagan as the first conservative President of the modern era.
Viguerie is the Chairman of American Target Advertising (ATA), a 60-year-old direct marketing agency with 90 team members located in Northern Virginia. Viguerie’s company has mailed more than 4.6 billion letters for hundreds of conservative candidates and organizations and raised more than $8 billion for conservative causes.
Mr. Viguerie is also Chairman of FedUp PAC, an independent expenditure political action committee that allows him to continue to grow the conservative movement by bypassing big corporate media using new and alternative media to educate voters to elect a constitutional conservative governing majority in Congress. He is also the publisher of the conservative website, ConservativeHQ.com.
Mr. Viguerie and his wife, Elaine, are natives of Houston, Texas, and have been married for 62 years. They have three children and six grandchildren and live in the Virginia countryside on 230 acres of conservative-friendly environment.
Testimonials
“Take Richard Viguerie out of the equation of the modern political conservative movement and I truly believe there wouldn’t be a modern conservative political movement.”
“I say he's indispensable to the conservative movement. The conservative movement wouldn't be what it is today, but for Richard.”
– Brent Bozell
Media Research Center Founder
Richard Viguerie is one of 13 “Conservatives of the Century.”
– Dr. Lee Edwards
The Washington Times, December 1999
“He is the architect of the new Right.”
“He is the catalyst that allowed conservatism to reach the pinnacles that it has over the past many years.”
– Barry Goldwater, Jr.
“…I'd say he's also The Founding Father of the modern Conservative Movement. People sometimes give credit to Bill Buckley for that, or maybe Barry Goldwater on the political side. But it was Richard Viguerie who saw the need for: how do we mobilize people in the grassroots to make it all happen?”
- Ed Feulner
Heritage Foundation President (Ret.) and Co-Founder
“He is one of the genuine pioneers of modern American politics. He went out and figured out some very complicated things and then applied them to a cause he believed in—a cause I am proud to have worked on with him. The fact is, he really invented the use of direct mail by Republicans and conservatives.”
– Newt Gingrich
Former House Speaker
“Richard is the only person who helped grow many mass-based conservative organizations in every area of public policy that constitutes the conservative movement.”
– Morton Blackwell
Leadership Institute Founder
“Your pen has been your weapon, obliterating the many lies of darkness and inspiring hardworking Americans across the country in support of truth. You have been an essential part of creating a vast army of political fighters who have helped to keep America free, and our nation is indebted to you.”
- Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida
“He [Reagan] would say that if the conservative movement was a pyramid, and we didn't have Richard Viguerie, that pyramid would be missing a giant block and the pyramid might tip over without Richard Viguerie.”
– Craig Shirley
Ronald Reagan Biographer & Historian
“If you look at the history of the conservative movement, no one, and I mean that, has played a more central role in turning all of that into an actual movement than Richard Viguerie.”
“You can't imagine the modern conservative movement without Richard Viguerie. He was there from the beginning. He's been pushing and pushing and pushing for decades to get people to get up and do the work that's necessary for political success and for intellectual success.”
“We've had Ronald Reagan. We've had people that everyone knows about. But none of that would have been possible but for those people who got down into the street and did the work—and Richard Viguerie was there at every step.”
- David Keene
Washington Times Opinion Editor,
Former President of National Rifle Association
“When you lose an election, You think, ‘If only Ronald Reagan wasn’t on the ballot,’ or ‘if only he hadn’t had Richard Viguerie and his mass-mailing operation out in Falls Church, I would have won”.
- Congressman Jerry Patterson
(explaining his 1984 defeat)
“Before talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and Newsmax, there was Richard Viguerie.”
“He's really The Godfather of conservative politics, conservative organizations, and conservative media—and sometimes people miss that media part!”
- Chris Ruddy
CEO & Owner of Newsmax
“Some of his friends think that Richard Viguerie, the king of right-wing political fund-raisers, ought to be President. Clearly, Mr. Viguerie is a man who thinks big. His allies in the conservative movement – and there are many – say he is a genius who speaks to and for a large body of Americans.”
- Rich Jaroslovsky
The Wall Street Journal, October 6, 1978
“There are very few people who can honestly say that they have changed the course of history.
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Without him, Barry Goldwater would never have been nominated for president.
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Without him, Ronald Reagan would never have served two terms in the White House.
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Without him, Donald Trump would never have become president.
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And without the communication tools that he pioneered; Donald Trump would have no shot at returning to the White House.
That man is Richard Viguerie.”
– Roger Stone
Political Consultant & Bestselling Author
January 2024
“Viguerie is the conservatives’ Voice of America…”
- The Washington Post magazine