Morton C. Blackwell, born on November 16, 1939, in La Jara, Colorado, is a prominent American conservative activist. He is the founder and president of the Leadership Institute, established in 1979, which is dedicated to training conservative activists in political technology.
Blackwell’s political involvement began during his time at Louisiana State University in the 1960s, I’m where he served as a College Republican state chairman and a Young Republican state chairman. In 1964, he became the youngest elected delegate pledged to Barry Goldwater at the Republican National Convention.
Throughout his career, Blackwell has held various significant roles within the Republican Party. He was a national convention alternate delegate for Ronald Reagan in 1968 and 1976, and a delegate at the 1980 Republican National Convention. In 1980, he organized and oversaw the national youth effort for Reagan. From 1981 to 1984, he served as Special Assistant to President Reagan.
Since 1988, Blackwell has represented Virginia as its Republican National Committeeman and has been re-elected for multiple terms. In 2004, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee. He is recognized as a specialist in Republican Party rules, serving on the Standing Committee on Rules of the Republican National Committee and attending every meeting of the RNC rules committees since 1972.
Under his leadership, the Leadership Institute has trained over 161,271 conservative activists, leaders, and students, including notable figures such as Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, and Senator Mitch McConnell.
In recognition of his contributions, Blackwell received The Heritage Foundation’s Titan of Conservatism Award in 2019.
As of June 2024, Blackwell was preparing for his 10th term as Virginia’s Republican National Committeeman, marking over three decades of service in this role.
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