The news that David Keene — political strategist, longtime chairman of the American Conservative Union (also CPAC) and former president of the National Rifle Association — died Sunday at age 81 struck deeply among activists on the right.
Few people had witnessed as much of the modern conservative movement as Keene.
He had been part of it almost from the beginning, dating back to its formative years in the early 1960s.
Only a few months ago, I participated in a filmed interview with Keene and another towering figure of postwar conservatism, direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie.
"Make sure you've cleared your schedule for the morning and afternoon," Viguerie warned me beforehand. "Dave is going to start with the early days of [1964 GOP presidential nominee Barry] Goldwater and take us all the way up to Trump."
He was right. Despite having suffered a stroke months earlier, Keene spent two and a half hours on camera recounting the personalities, campaigns, and turning points that shaped the modern conservative movement.
The son of a union member, Keene first became involved in politics as a young activist in the conservative group Young Americans for Freedom in his hometown of Atkinson, Wisconsin, and later at the University of Wisconsin.
While still in college, he rose to become national chairman of YAF, forging political relationships that would serve both him and the conservative movement for decades.
"Reading [economist] Ludwig von Mises discuss freedom and then seeing the left on campus try to shut down freedom of expression for those they disagreed with really shaped my views," Keene once recalled.
Another powerful influence was Rep. Walter Judd, R-Minn., a physician and former missionary in China whose firsthand experience with the rise of communism helped shape Keene's lifelong anti-communism.
In 1969, at just 24 years old, Keene ran in a special election for the Wisconsin state senate.
He stunned local conservatives by securing the endorsement of President Richard Nixon and even a televised endorsement from California Gov. Ronald Reagan.
But the backing was not enough to overcome a union-supported Democrat opponent, and Keene lost by just 1% of the vote.
He quickly rebounded, landing a position on the staff of Vice President Spiro Agnew.
Agnew, once an obscure and generally moderate governor of Maryland, became a hero to conservatives with his hard-hitting speeches attacking the "effete corps of impudent snobs" on the left and the "nattering nabobs of negativism" in the liberal media.
"And Ted — what friends called Agnew — was the 800-pound gorilla in the Republican Party," Keene once said.
Agnew's influence was evident in 1970, when he effectively sidelined liberal Republican Sen. Charles Goodell of New York and helped clear the way for Conservative Party nominee James L. Buckley, who ultimately won the race.
Two years later, nearly every Republican candidate wanted Agnew campaigning for them, and it fell to Keene to help decide where the vice president would appear.
One of the candidates Agnew stumped for was a little-known college professor named Thad Cochran, who would become Mississippi's second Republican member of Congress since Reconstruction.
Agnew's career ended abruptly in October 1973 when corruption charges stemming from his time as Maryland's governor forced his resignation. Keene later recalled a conversation with the vice president during those difficult days.
"With his world collapsing and his future uncertain, Ted asked what I was going to do for a job," Keene recalled. "When I said I might move back to Wisconsin, he said, ‘Don't do that. All they'll ask you about is me. Stay here and work for one of our guys. I'll help you.'"
Agnew kept his word. He called Sen. James Buckley, who was looking for an executive assistant.
"And sure enough," Keene said in the interview, his eyes filling with tears, "Buckley hired me."
After several years working for Buckley, Keene joined fellow conservatives in what at the time seemed a long-shot effort: Ronald Reagan's 1976 challenge to President Gerald Ford, who had replaced Agnew as vice president and then Nixon as president after the Watergate scandal.
Keene served as Reagan's southern coordinator, working with veteran conservatives such as future Alabama Gov. Guy Hunt, Texas activist Ray Barnhart, and North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms.
Reagan ultimately fell just short, losing the nomination by a heartbreaking margin of 117 delegates out of more than 2,100 cast.
Four years later, however, Keene made a surprising move.
After disagreements with some of Reagan's staff about what his authority would be in the campaign, he declined a position with the 1980 Reagan effort and instead joined the campaign of Reagan's chief rival, George H. W. Bush.
Bush lasted longer than any of Reagan's more moderate challengers and ultimately emerged from the Republican convention as Reagan's vice presidential running mate.
In time, Keene's temporary alignment with Bush did little to damage his standing with Reagan.
As chairman of the American Conservative Union and host of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Keene frequently welcomed Reagan as a keynote speaker, and the 40th president always greeted him warmly.
Despite his sometimes blunt and cutting commentary on Sunday talk shows, Keene also maintained cordial relationships with ideological opponents.
Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee — neither closely aligned with the conservative movement — often dined with him. Vice President Dick Cheney joined him on hunting and fishing trips.
Keene later advised Sen. Bob Dole during both his 1988 and 1996 presidential campaigns and brought his historical perspective to his role as opinion editor of The Washington Times.
Even in his final years, after suffering a stroke, Keene rarely slowed down.
To those who knew him — or simply crossed paths with him — David Keene was a man of deep conviction who understood how to turn conservative ideas into political action.
He commanded respect from both grassroots activists and the movement's leaders.
Keene leaves us a powerful legacy.
His wife continues his work as a senior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum. She previously held positions in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush administrations.
To those fortunate enough to call him a friend, one thing is certain: David Keene will not be forgotten as long as his work continues.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.