Republican Main Street Partnership

Republican Main Street Partnership
President/CEO Sarah Chamberlain
Founded 1994 (1994)
Ideology Centrism[1][2]
Fiscal conservatism[3]
Political position Center[1][2] to center-right[4][5][6]
National affiliation Republican Party
Colors      Red
Seats in the Senate
3 / 100
Seats in House Republican Caucus
73 / 239
Seats in the House
73 / 435
Website
republicanmainstreet.org

The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of centrist and moderately conservative members of the United States Republican Party within the United States Congress, similar to the Blue Dog Democrats.[3][7]

The Republican Main Street Partnership presents what it describes as centrist Republican solutions.[8] According to the group, its members advocate for conservative pragmatic government and legislators who govern in the Republican tradition as "solutions-oriented fiscal realists" who advance policies with bipartisan support.[9]

In the fall of 2017, members of the Main Street Partnership launched the Republican Main Street Caucus, also known as Main Street on the Hill, in order to advance the legislative goals of the organization and develop the group into a more consistent voting bloc. The caucus is led by Chairman Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Co-Chairs Jeff Denham (R-CA), Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) and Fred Upton (R-MI).[10]

The Caucus' mission states: "It is time to get past partisan bickering and ideological rigidity. Our goal is to find areas of commonality and pass legislation to affect real positive change for our constituents. We are here to advocate for the millions of hard-working American families who expect us to deliver results".[10]

History

The Main Street Partnership was formed following the 1994 House elections in which conservative Republicans were swept into power. An informal discussion group formed by Representatives Nancy Johnson, Steve Gunderson and Fred Upton later became somewhat of an organized bloc intent on representing the moderate wing of the Republican Party. The partnership is currently composed of moderates such as Susan Collins and Todd Young; some members would fit most of the criteria of a conservative, such as Thad McCotter and Brian Bilbray.

The Main Street Partnership has allied with other moderate Republican groups, including Christine Todd Whitman's It's My Party Too, Ann Stone's Republicans for Choice, the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Majority For Choice, The Wish List, Republicans for Environmental Protection, the Mainstream Republicans of Washington and the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority.

They are an important swing vote on spending bills and as a result have gained influence in Congress out of proportion to their numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between the Democratic and Republican leadership, generally lending a more center-right character to US politics.[11]

Members of the Main Street Partnership are often challenged in Republican primaries by members from the Club for Growth (CFG), FreedomWorks and the Tea Party movement, among others.[12] The CFG has used the pejorative term RINO (Republicans In Name Only) to describe opponents like the Main Street Partnership who they feel are not conservative enough. According to the director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, the CFG and its agenda are "not representative of the Republican Party" and "we raise money on a daily basis to defeat them."[13]

On September 7, 2017, members formed the Republican Main Street Congressional Caucus with Pat Tiberi (OH-12) as Chair.[14][15] After Tiberi's resignation from the House, Rodney Davis (IL-13) took over duties as Chair.[16]

Current members

Map of House caucus members during the 115th Congress
Map of House caucus members during the 113th Congress
Map of House caucus members during the 112th Congress

Board of directors

  • Sarah Chamberlain – President and CEO
  • Amo Houghton – Chairman Emeritus and founder, former Representative from New York
  • Dave Hobson – Board Member, former Representative from Ohio
  • Jennifer LaTourette – Board Member
  • Doug Ose – Board Member, former Representative from California
  • Robert Ziff – Board Member

Source:[17]

Senators

Representatives

Former members

Representatives

Senators

Former Governors

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Gray, Steven (December 11, 2010). "Illinois' Mark Kirk: Can a Moderate Republican Thrive in Today's Senate?". Time. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  2. 1 2 O'Connor, Patrick (April 16, 2014). "GOP Feud on Full Display in New Idaho Ad". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Three New Congressional Members Join Main Street". Republicanmainstreet.org. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  4. ↑ LaTourette, Steve (January 8, 2013). "Former U.S. Rep Steve LaTourette (R-OH) Statement on the New Main Street Partnership". Republicanmainstreet.org. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ James, Frank (February 13, 2014). "Debt Ceiling Vote Relied On GOP's 'Tough Vote' Caucus". Npr.org. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ Wolf, Frank (January 8, 2013). "Former U.S. Rep Steve LaTourette (R-OH) Statement on the New Main Street Partnership". Republicanmainstreet.org. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ Lucas, DeWayne; Iva Deutchman (June 19, 2008). "Looking for the Productive Center in the 2006 Elections: Running for Congress as a Blue Dog or Main Streeter" (PDF). Rockefeller.dartmouth.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  8. ↑ "Republican Main Street Partnership to Showcase Centrist Republican Solutions for 2008, January 21st, 2008 - Republican Main Street Partnership". Republican Main Street Partnership. January 9, 2011. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  9. ↑ "About". RepublicanMainStreet.Org. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "The Caucus - Republican Main Street Partnership". Republican Main Street Partnership. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Republican Main Street Partnership Delivers Passage of the First Major Mental Health Legislation in 50 Years - Republican Main Street Partnership". Republican Main Street Partnership. July 7, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Club for Growth". Club for Growth. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Republican Group Targets Its Own Party". NPR.org. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Statement on Formation of Republican Main Street Congressional Caucus".
  15. ↑ "Republican Main Street Partnership forms new Capitol Hill caucus with Ohio ties".
  16. ↑ "Is there room for another GOP caucus? Main Street chairman says yes".
  17. ↑ "Board of Directors - Republican Main Street Partnership". Republican Main Street Partnership. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
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