RedState is an American conservative political blog based in Washington, D.C., and owned by the Salem Media Group as part of its Townhall Media network. Launched in 2004 by conservative bloggers Joshua Treviño, Ben Domenech and Mike Krempasky, it grew into one of the most influential right-wing blogs of the 2000s and early 2010s, combining staff-written commentary with user-submitted diaries and hosting an annual summer convention for conservative activists. Its history traces the evolution of conservative online media — from grassroots blog community to corporate-owned outlet, including a 2018 staff purge that became a symbol of the conservative movement's internal fractures over Donald Trump.
Founding as a 527 group in 2004
RedState was founded in 2004 as a 527 group — the tax designation for independent political organizations — by conservative bloggers Joshua Treviño, Ben Domenech and Mike Krempasky. The site emerged during the explosion of political blogging in the mid-2000s, when independent conservative voices were building large audiences outside traditional media institutions. The founders conceived it as a collaborative space for conservative bloggers, and it quickly attracted attention for its aggressive coverage of the 2004 and 2006 election cycles from the right.
The Domenech-Washington Post controversy
In March 2006, co-founder Ben Domenech was hired as a blogger by the Washington Post's online operation, a move that immediately drew scrutiny. Critics accused Domenech of plagiarism in some of his prior writings during college. At the end of his first week on the job, Domenech resigned, eventually admitting to plagiarism. He took a leave of absence from RedState at the time, returning in July 2006. The episode became one of the early landmark controversies about standards, sourcing and accountability in the political blogosphere, arriving just as legacy media outlets were beginning to hire prominent independent bloggers and forcing both worlds to confront what standards should apply.
Erick Erickson's era
Erick Erickson, who joined RedState in 2006, became the site's editor-in-chief and CEO and defined its most influential era. Under Erickson, RedState developed a grassroots focus and a community-building model, with user diaries and contributor blogs that made the site feel like a gathering place for conservative activists. Erickson himself became a prominent conservative media figure, and the site's influence grew to the point that Republican politicians treated it as a must-visit stop. Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate became regular diarists at RedState, including former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who posted a diary on November 16, 2006.
Sale to Eagle Publishing
On December 20, 2006, RedState announced its sale to Eagle Publishing, Inc., effective January 2, 2007. Erickson remained editor-in-chief after the sale. Eagle Publishing was the parent company of the conservative publisher Regnery and the Human Events newspaper, placing RedState inside a broader conservative media portfolio. Under Eagle's ownership, the site continued to grow, and in July 2008 it launched a redesigned version of the site called RS3, introducing features such as organizing contributor and user diaries by state, action centers allowing users to take action on emerging political issues, and links to share posts through social networking sites.
RedState Gatherings and peak influence
Prior to 2017, RedState organized annual "RedState Gatherings," summer conventions for conservative activists and grassroots political activism that featured many prominent public figures in conservative politics. The gatherings became a fixture of the conservative calendar and a demonstration of the site's clout. On August 13, 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy for President of the United States at RedState's 2011 gathering — a moment the Austin American-Statesman attributed to the growing influence of the site and Erickson. RedState also created numerous offshoot blogs on specific political topics, including a site opposed to then-Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Arlen Specter and a site supporting the judicial nominees of President George W. Bush.
Acquisition by Salem Media Group
Salem Media Group acquired Eagle Publishing in 2014, bringing RedState into Salem's orbit. RedState is owned by Salem Media Group, a conservative media company that also operates radio stations and publishes books, and sits within Salem's Townhall Media portfolio alongside Townhall, HotAir, Twitchy and Bearing Arms. Salem has said Townhall Media's digital footprint reaches more than 15 million readers each month, making it one of the largest conservative online news networks in the country. The corporate transition gradually changed the site's character. Erickson later said that after the Salem purchase, the grassroots focus went away, as did the community-building aspect, in favor of click-driven content — a charge that reflected broader tensions between the site's founding ethos and its corporate ownership.
The 2018 purge of Trump critics
In April 2018, Salem Media froze the site and dismissed many of its writers in what was widely described as a mass firing. Bloggers were locked out of their accounts, some temporarily while cuts were made and others permanently. The purge targeted writers who had been openly critical of President Trump from conservative and libertarian perspectives. RedState had been one of the more visible right-leaning websites consistently featuring writing challenging Trump, and the firings were attributed to parent company Salem Media. An internal memo confirmed the housecleaning, though Salem offered no immediate public comment. Fired writers said those under contracts with higher per-click rates who were pro-Trump were mostly kept, while Trump critics were dismissed — a move that made RedState a national symbol of the conservative movement's divisions over the Trump presidency.
RedState's current form
Following the 2018 shakeup, RedState continued operating as a conservative political blog under Townhall Media, but with a substantially changed identity. Erick Erickson declared that the site name would linger but that the original RedState was effectively over, inviting the fired writers to his own blog. The site remains online at redstate.com as part of Salem's digital portfolio, publishing conservative news and commentary, with registration optional and required only for commenting. Its audience and influence are diminished relative to its peak years, but the brand remains a recognized name in conservative media.
Editorial character
RedState publishes conservative news coverage, opinion and analysis aimed at a Republican and right-leaning audience. In its heyday it blended staff writing with community diaries, giving it a participatory character unusual among political blogs of its era. The site's editorial line has shifted with its ownership and staffing changes — from Erickson's movement-conservative grassroots focus to the post-2018 iteration aligned with Salem's pro-Trump media posture. Throughout, it has remained identifiably conservative, covering elections, Congress, the courts and cultural issues from the right.
Legacy in conservative media
RedState's legacy is bound up with the history of the conservative blogosphere itself. It demonstrated that independent blogs could rival established outlets in shaping Republican politics, pioneered the activist convention as a digital-media brand extension, and then illustrated how corporate consolidation could transform an insurgent outlet. The 2018 purge made it a case study in how the Trump era reorganized conservative media, rewarding loyalty and marginalizing internal critics. From a site founded as a 527 group by three bloggers in 2004, its two decades trace the arc of online conservatism from grassroots insurgency to corporate media institution. Co-founder Ben Domenech went on to remain a prominent conservative journalist, while the RedState brand itself remains one of the oldest continuously operating names in American political blogging.
