Republican Main Street Partnership


The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was founded to raise funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. As of 2024, the organization seems to be leaning away from its original centrist mission. The Republican Main Street Partnership does not advocate for legislation but offers networking and mentorship opportunities and provides a forum for discussion. The partnership is affiliated with a super PAC called Defending Main Street. The partnership is also affiliated with the Republican Main Street Caucus, a Republican congressional member organization that takes pragmatic conservative positions.

History

Formation and activity

Rep. Amo Houghton of New York was the founder and chairman emeritus of the Republican Main Street Partnership.
The partnership was formed following the 1994 United States [House of Representatives 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 an organized bloc intent on representing the Factions in the [Republican Party (United States)#Moderates|moderate wing of the Republican Party]. The partnership has described itself as a "broad alliance of conservative, governing Republicans".
In 2004, the Republican Main Street Partnership proposed changes that would have moved the Republican Party's platform regarding abortion and stem-cell research in a moderate direction.
Members of Congress affiliated with the partnership have been challenged in Republican primaries by members from the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and the Tea Party movement, among others. The partnership had a notably adversarial relationship with the fiscally conservative Club for Growth. In 2011, however, the director of the partnership stated that the two groups had "'come to an understanding'".
The partnership is affiliated with a super PAC called Defending Main Street.

Republican Main Street Caucus

In September 2017, the Republican Main Street Caucus was formed with Pat Tiberi as chair. The caucus is a Republican congressional member organization that takes pragmatic conservative positions. Upon its formation, the caucus stated that it would prioritize "'strong, conservative principles related to economic and national security policy'". Tiberi added, "'We are focused on getting things done and delivering real results to the American people'". After Tiberi's resignation from the House in 2018, Rodney Davis took over duties as chair.

Dissolution of the Republican Main Street Caucus

In the 2018 United States [House of Representatives elections], the Democratic Party won a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats. This total was their largest gain of House seats in an election since the 1974 elections.
On November 28, 2018, the Republican Main Street Caucus met with the Republican Main Street Partnership to ask why the partnership's super PAC had left $722,000 of its funds unspent. The partnership's chief executive officer, Sarah Chamberlain, said that $6million had been spent on 2018 campaigns and that the remaining $722,000 was set aside for 2020. Members of the caucus expressed concern that Chamberlain's compensation was 20percent of the partnership's operating expenses. The following month, 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. An NPR story about the turmoil involving the partnership led to litigation.
The members of the caucus voted to dissolve the caucus in February 2019.

Re-formation of the Republican Main Street Caucus

By 2021, the Republican Main Street Caucus had re-formed. As of 2023, it had once again become one of the major Republican caucuses in the House of Representatives. The caucus identifies itself as a group of pragmatic conservatives. It is affiliated with the Republican Main Street Partnership. The caucus has also been described as "centrist" and "mainstream".

Shift away from centrist Republicanism

According to an article published in the New York Times in March 2024, it seems the organization is moving away from its centrist politics. "The Republican Main Street Partnership...directed half a million dollars...to defeat Representative Bob Good, a hard-right lawmaker from Virginia, making an unusual push to oust a sitting Republican member of Congress. The move s notable... because the candidate it s backing — John J. McGuire, a former member of the Navy SEALs and an election denier who has pledged fealty to former president Donald J. Trump and promised to bring a “biblical worldview” to Congress — bears so little resemblance to the kind of moderate Republican the Main Street Partnership was founded to support."

Affiliated members of Congress

As of January 2025, the partnership listed eight U.S. senators and 79 U.S. representatives as being affiliated with it.

U.S. senators

U.S. representatives

Former members

Representatives