Lincoln Day Gala: Independent journalist Jonathan Choe wants more storytellers

Jonathan Choe, an investigative independent journalist, was the guest speaker at the Lincoln Day Gala on Saturday, a fundraiser for the Clark County Republican Party. Photo courtesy Paul Valencia

🎧 Jonathan Choe Challenges Clark County GOP to Tell Their Stories

Keynote speaker Jonathan Choe challenges those in the audience at the Clark County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Gala to become storytellers of their own as he hopes more citizen journalists will work to hold policymakers accountable

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

In this age of independent journalism, the Clark County Republican Party invited one of the most influential independent journalists in the Northwest to challenge its members.

“You now need to understand how to tell your story through new media,” Jonathan Choe told a sold-out Lincoln Day Gala on Saturday night at Heathman Lodge in Vancouver. “We are seeing the rise of citizen journalism like never before. … All you need is curiosity, the ability to hit ‘record’ on your phone … and a little bit of courage.”

Choe was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s fundraiser for the Clark County GOP. He discussed his battle stories from covering protests across the country, and his start right here in Washington. Choe is a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute’s Center of Wealth and Poverty, and he also works with Turning Point USA.

“The independent journalists are now breaking the big stories. We’re holding public officials accountable when local legacy media is failing to do so,” Choe said. “Now we’re forcing the issue, so mainstream has no other choice but to follow our coverage. I’m damn proud that a lot of that is coming out of Washington state right now.”

He emphasized that one does not need a large platform to hold political leaders accountable. Choe said if anyone finds something that needs to be highlighted, contact him, and he could amplify the story, not just locally but nationally. Choe has more than 190,000 followers on X and more than 170,000 followers on Instagram.

He also shared a famous quote from Steve Jobs, noting that the most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.

Choe wants more conservative citizens to go to County Council meetings, to go to City Council meetings, and report what is happening. He said traditional media outlets are no longer holding politicians accountable. Citizen journalists fill the gap.

“Clark County, I believe, is in a very unique position. You’re not King County (in Seattle) where all hope is lost, with zero Republican lawmakers in office. Here, you’ve got amazing candidates. You already have elected officials who are in it to fight. I want to encourage each and every one of you that you have the power to be storytellers.”

Choe gained popularity through his reporting on the homeless crisis in Seattle. Since then, he has gone across the country to report on the issue.

During the Q&A segment, he was asked what he would do to solve homelessness. The homeless situation is a major concern in Clark County as Vancouver has seen a rise in homeless camps in recent years.

Choe said too many political leaders are going with the wrong solutions.

“We have policymakers who have been compromised by the activist class and the homeless industrial complex,” Choe said, referring to non-profits and others taking advantage of “land grabs” for building shelters.

“For more than a decade, they’ve been told about something called ‘Housing First,’” Choe said, noting that giving away apartments is not the answer.

He credited the work done by the Discovery Institute in leading President Trump to issue an executive order that takes money away from ‘Housing First’ initiatives and puts the money toward treatment and recovery.

“Homeless, Inc. is on the run,” Choe said.

If the Trump administration wins this legal battle, Choe said there will be a change in this homeless drug crisis.

“It will no longer be a narrative about building more houses. It will be about actually going after the root causes, which are drug addiction, mental illness, and broken relationships,” Choe said. “That’s what democrats refuse to acknowledge.”

The 2026 Lincoln Day Gala also was a time for the Clark County GOP to state its goals for the future. Matt Bumala, the chair of the Clark County Republican Party, got the crowd going by supporting conservative candidates this election year at the congressional level, the state supreme court, as well as county positions.

Jim Walsh, the Washington State GOP chair, gave a video message.

“The progressive left in Washington has just gone too far,” Walsh said. “They’ve overreached and put in place too many bad policies.”

Walsh said that presents an opportunity “for us, common-sense conservatives … to take the reins.”

State Senator Jeff Wilson from District 19 also spoke Saturday at the gala.

“This is the golden era of us,” he said.

Later, he waved a 250th birthday flag.

“Congratulations to every one of you for this first two hundred and fifty years of greatness,” Wilson said. “God bless America.”

Those flags were at every table in the room.

Bumala also made note of America’s birthday.

“We’re celebrating 250 years of saying, ‘No thank you, England. We are fine being our own country.’”