Republican Main Street Partnership
President, CEOSarah Chamberlain[1]
FoundedMay 1994 (1994-05)
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
IdeologyConservatism
Moderate conservatism
Political positionCenter-right[2]
Website
republicanmainstreet.org

The Republican Main Street Partnership is a 501(c)(4) organization that was allied with the congressional Republican Main Street Caucus.[3] The Partnership continues to exist, but the Caucus was dissolved by its members in February 2019 and was since reformed as a separate unrelated entity.[4]

History

Formation of the Republican Main Street Partnership

The Chairman Emeritus and Founder of the group was now-deceased former Congressman Amo Houghton of New York.[1]

The Republican 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, with the organization describing itself as a "broad alliance of centrist Republicans."[5]

The Republican Main Street Partnership 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 were sometimes swing votes 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.[6]

Members of the Republican Main Street Partnership were often challenged in Republican primaries by members from the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and the Tea Party movement, among others.[7] The Club for Growth has used the pejorative term RINO (Republicans In Name Only) to describe opponents such as the Republican Main Street Partnership that it feels are not conservative enough. According to the director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Club for Growth and its agenda are "not representative of the Republican Party" and the Republican Main Street Partnership "raise[s] money on a daily basis to defeat" members of the Club for Growth.[8]

In 2004, the group attempted to propose changes to moderate the Republican Party's platform regarding abortion and stem-cell research.[9]

Formation of the Republican Main Street Caucus

On September 7, 2017, members formed the Republican Main Street Caucus with Pat Tiberi (OH–12) as chair.[10][11] After Tiberi's resignation from the House in 2018, Rodney Davis (IL–13) took over duties as chair.[12]

Dissolution of the Republican Main Street Caucus

After the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections, the Democratic Party won the majority of the seats in the House of Representatives, gaining a net total of 41 seats from two years prior, their largest gain of House seats in an election since the 1974 elections.[4]

Sarah Chamberlain in 2022

On November 28, 2018, the Republican Main Street Caucus met with the Republican Main Street Partnership to ask why the Partnership's SuperPAC still had $722,000 unspent, rather than spending that money on competitive races to keep its members in office. The Partnership's chief executive officer, Sarah Chamberlain, said that $6 million had been spent on 2018 campaigns, and that the remaining $722,000 was set aside for 2020. Members of the Caucus were concerned that Chamberlain's compensation was 20 percent of the Partnership's operating expenses.[13][4]

The following month, the Caucus asked Chamberlain how the Caucus had spent its money to help its members' races. Chamberlain referenced an organization, Women2Women, that was part of the Partnership's network that many Caucus members had never heard of, spurring questions about Chamberlain's leadership. The Caucus voted unanimously to suspend political activity with the Partnership until an independent audit of the Partnership's governance could be conducted. The Partnership declined to be audited, saying it was a private organization, independent of the Caucus, and that the Caucus had no right to request an audit.[4]

The members of the Caucus voted to dissolve itself in February 2019.[4] Some of its members decided to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. The Partnership continued to exist.[14]

Re-formation of the Republican Main Street Caucus

The Republican Main Street Caucus has since reformed and is one of the major Republican caucuses in the House of Representatives. The Republican Main Street Caucus identifies itself as a group of pragmatic conservatives.[2] The Caucus has also been described as "centrist"[15] and "mainstream".[16]

Board of directors

Current membership of the Main Street Caucus

Republican Main Street Partnership Group in the 118th United States Congress

There are currently five U.S. Senators and 70 House Representatives affiliated with the group.[17][18]

U.S. Senators

U.S. Representatives

Former members

Representatives

Senators

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 member of Leadership Advisory Group[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About". Republican Main Street Partnership. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  2. 1 2 McPherson, Lindsey (February 15, 2023). "Main Street Caucus eyes 'pragmatic' conservative wins". Roll Call.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Patrick (April 16, 2014). "GOP Feud on Full Display in New Idaho Ad". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Davis, Susan. "Meltdown On Main Street: Inside The Breakdown Of The GOP's Moderate Wing". NPR. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ "ABOUT". RMSP. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  6. ↑ "Republican Main Street Partnership Delivers Passage of the First Major Mental Health Legislation in 50 Years". Republican Main Street Partnership. July 7, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Club for Growth". Club for Growth. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ Halloran, Liz (16 June 2011). "Republican Group Targets Its Own Party". NPR. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ Kirkpatrick, David D. (25 August 2004). "THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA; Draft G.O.P. Platform Backs Bush on Security, Gay Marriage and Immigration". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Statement on Formation of Republican Main Street Congressional Caucus".
  11. ↑ "Republican Main Street Partnership forms new Capitol Hill caucus with Ohio ties".
  12. ↑ "Is there room for another GOP caucus? Main Street chairman says yes".
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "Republican Main Street Partnership – Initial File Number: 931728". Government of the District of Columbia. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  15. ↑ Pengelly, Martin; Greve, Joan E. (October 4, 2023). "Republicans Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise launch House speakership bids" – via The Guardian.
  16. ↑ "Scalise's potentially fatal mistake". washingtonpost.com. October 12, 2023.
  17. ↑ "RMSP Congressional Members". RMSP. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  18. ↑ "MEMBERS". RMSP. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  19. ↑ "Leadership Advisory Group". Republican Main Street Partnership Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  20. ↑ Vas, Nicole (November 9, 2017). "Is there room for another GOP caucus? Main Street chairman says yes". The Hill. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
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