Encyclopedia · Event

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)

Recurring U.S. conservative political conference

Organization details

First held: January 1974 · Washington, D.C.
Type: Recurring political conference; not an independent legal corporation
Principal organizer: American Conservative Union (ACU)
Early partner: Young Americans for Freedom; other conservative organizations
Early organizer: M. Stanton Evans, ACU chairman
Founding-era organizers: Frank Donatelli; Ron Robinson (Young America’s Foundation account)
Notable 1974 speaker: Ronald Reagan, then governor of California
1975 program: Consideration of an independent conservative political party
Contemporary host branding: CPAC / CPAC Foundation and associated ACU organizations
Website: cpac.org

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is a recurring gathering of conservative activists, politicians and organizations in the United States. First convened in 1974, it has been organized principally by the American Conservative Union and affiliated institutions.

Origins

The first conference was held in Washington in January 1974. The American Conservative Union organized the event with other conservative groups; its chairman M. Stanton Evans oversaw the first four conferences. Young America’s Foundation credits Frank Donatelli and Ron Robinson with establishing the conference.

California governor Ronald Reagan delivered an address at the inaugural gathering. The program emphasized election organizing and conservative political strategy.

The 1975 conference and political debate

At the February 1975 conference, organizers explored whether conservatives should establish a separate national party. ACU and Young Americans for Freedom co-sponsored the event.

The conference created the Committee on Conservative Alternatives to investigate options; John Ashbrook was among those named to it. The committee studied election laws but did not formally recommend forming a third party.

Subsequent development

The event continued annually, with political speeches, panels, training, vendor exhibits and appearances by Republican officials. Reagan returned as president, including an address at the 1985 annual dinner.

Its use of the CPAC brand expanded to international events and online programs. The precise year, place, sponsors and headlining speakers should be attributed separately for each edition rather than treating all conferences as interchangeable.

Governance and institutional distinctions

CPAC denotes a conference and a public brand. The American Conservative Union, a 501(c)(4), and the American Conservative Union Foundation / CPAC Foundation, a 501(c)(3), are separately identified legal organizations. Their tax filings should not be treated as conference-only budgets.

Young Americans for Freedom and Young America’s Foundation are distinct institutions: historical records identify YAF as a 1975 CPAC co-sponsor, while the Foundation identifies its own leaders with the conference’s 1974 establishment.

Documented connections

The event was organized by ACU, co-sponsored in 1975 by YAF, addressed by Reagan in 1974 and subsequent years, and used in 1975 to study political alternatives with Ashbrook on the committee.

References

Research compiled through November 12, 2026. Sources and historical roles are dated where known.