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The news, with the spin made visible.
Outlet profile

RedState

U.S. right

Owned bySalem Media Group, operating through its Townhall Media division; Salem's board approved an acquisition by WaterStone (The Christian Community Foundation, Inc.), a Colorado Springs Christian nonprofit, in May 2026 — deal expected to close August 2026
FundingOnline advertising; part of Salem Media Group's broader conservative media portfolio
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

RedState was launched on July 16, 2004, by conservative bloggers Ben Domenech, Mike Krempasky, and Joshua Treviño as a right-leaning political blog. Erick Erickson joined in 2006 and became editor-in-chief and CEO, making the site a prominent hub for grassroots conservative commentary. In 2007, the site was sold to Eagle Publishing; in 2014, Salem Media Group — a Texas-based Christian conservative broadcasting and publishing company — acquired Eagle Publishing and brought RedState into its portfolio alongside Townhall and other right-leaning properties. Co-founder Domenech became a notable early controversy when he resigned from a Washington Post blogging role in 2006 after plagiarism allegations surfaced. In August 2015, Erickson publicly disinvited Donald Trump from the annual RedState gathering after Trump made remarks about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, a sign that the site was then part of establishment-conservative resistance to Trump; Erickson left the site by year's end. In April 2018, Salem conducted mass staff firings at RedState, with multiple sources reporting that editors seen as insufficiently supportive of Trump were among those let go — a turning point after which the site adopted a clearly pro-Trump posture. Media-bias trackers such as Media Bias/Fact Check rate RedState as having a strong to borderline extreme right-wing bias with a mixed factual record; AllSides rates it 'right.' In May 2026, Salem's board unanimously approved a roughly $31 million buyout by WaterStone, a Colorado Springs Christian donor-advised fund foundation with approximately $2 billion in advised assets; the transaction is expected to close in August 2026.

Sources

  1. RedState - Wikipedia
  2. RedState - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. Red State Media Bias | AllSides
  4. Salem Media to Be Acquired by WaterStone in Major Growth Deal
  5. Donor-Advised Fund Foundation to Acquire Salem Media - Religion Unplugged
  6. Meet WaterStone: The Christian Nonprofit Acquiring Salem Media - Radio Ink
  7. 'Mass firing' at conservative site RedState - CNN Money
  8. Salem Media Group - Wikipedia

Profile compiled 2026-06-25; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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