A strong, widely accessible message is key for the future of the Republican Party, a Republican National Committee member from Georgia said Tuesday.

“What we need to do first of all is define the message of the RNC, because some of the elected officials that we’ve sent to D.C. have not stayed on message,” said Linda Herren, who will speak at the College Republicans meeting tonight.

Herren is one of 168 Republicans on the committee, which will decide at the end of this month the next national Republican Party chairman.

“We need to get our message out, especially to the young people and the minorities, that we are the party of fiscal responsibility and so forth,” she said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “Some people have said our brand has become tainted and people don’t know what we stand for.”

Greg Wilson, a sophomore from Marietta and chairman of the College Republicans, said explaining values is important.

“I think the role is really to rebuild the party,” Wilson said in a phone interview Tuesday.

“The values we have are just fine, it’s just explaining those values to people,” he said.

Herren said she saw several areas where the Republican Party needs to improve.

“There were many factors that contributed to our losses, not only in the White House, but across the country. One of those factors was the technology issues. The RNC just didn’t utilize what it had.”

“We also need to reach out to youth,” Wilson said. “If the Republican Party doesn’t start reaching out to college kids, there will be a gap in conservatives in my generation.”

Matt Ralston, a freshman and public relations director for the College Republicans, said this election is critical because it will help define the Republican Party over the next several years.

“I think the [Republican Party's] role nationally is to respectfully object to the President-elect. We support President-elect Obama, but obviously we have different ideas,” Ralston said in a phone interview Tuesday. “You may not like what President Obama is trying to push through Congress, so here’s an alternative.”

The meeting is tonight at 7 in room 214 of the Miller Learning Center.