Chuck Darwin<p>Mr. Vance’s new job is likely to make Rockbridge and its 150 members influential players in pushing the Trump agenda.</p><p>In part, that is because Mr. Trump has had a sometimes frosty relationship with traditional Republican donor groups, <br>including the libertarian Koch Network <br>and the more hawkish American Opportunity Alliance. </p><p>Rockbridge, by contrast, was born in the Trump era and shares his edginess, <br>if not the wealth of those rival networks.</p><p>“There’s a decision that big conservative donors have to make here,” said <a href="https://c.im/tags/Oren" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Oren</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Cass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cass</span></a>, <br>an influential conservative economist in Mr. Vance’s orbit <br>who is close with these major donors. </p><p>“Up until the 2024 election, there was at least a colorable case to be made that maybe Trump isn’t going to succeed.”</p><p>That case is now no longer colorable, Mr. Cass said. </p><p>“Who is stuck in the cargo hold of the old ship and going down with it <br>— and who actually wants to be relevant to the future of conservatism?” he asked.</p><p>Mr. <a href="https://c.im/tags/Buskirk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Buskirk</span></a> told donors in Las Vegas that during the campaign, Rockbridge had about 3,000 people in the field working on Mr. Trump’s behalf. </p><p>Now, after the Republican victory, Mr. Buskirk said, it was time for Rockbridge projects to grow even bigger.</p>