Republican Main Street Partnership

Main Street Partnership
Chairman Amo Houghton
Founded 1994
Ideology Centrism[1][2]
Fiscal conservatism[3]
Political position Center[1][2] to Center-right[4][5][6]
National affiliation Republican Party
Seats in the Senate
4 / 100
Seats in the House
65 / 435
Website
republicanmainstreet.org

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

Members of the group are often labeled as RINOs by conservative Republicans and are often challenged in Republican primaries by the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, and the Tea Party movement, among others.[8][9]

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 Mark Kirk; 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.

In May 2005, the Main Street Partnership helped pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in the House Of Representatives; 50 Republicans voted in support of the bill, which passed 238–194.

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 centrist character to US politics.

The organization's board of directors voted on January 8, 2013 to scrap party identification from its title and be known simply as "The Main Street Partnership." The group's new president, former Ohio Republican Rep. Steven LaTourette, told Yahoo News that he intended to start conversations with Blue Dog Democrats and centrist groups in the following months.[10]

Current members

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

Board of directors

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 2014-08-11.
  5. ↑ James, Frank (February 13, 2014). "Debt Ceiling Vote Relied On GOP's 'Tough Vote' Caucus". Npr.org. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  6. ↑ Wolf, Frank (January 8, 2013). "Former U.S. Rep Steve LaTourette (R-OH) Statement on the New Main Street Partnership". Republicanmainstreet.org. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  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. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  8. ↑ "Club for Growth". Club for Growth. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  9. ↑ "Republican Group Targets Its Own Party". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  10. ↑ Chris Moody (8 January 2013). "Moderate Republican group to remove 'Republican' from name, welcome Democrats". Yahoo News. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
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