The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group that supports moderate Republican members of Congress. It has been backed in the past by labor unions. The group exists to counter the influence of more conservative members of Congress and calls itself the “governing wing of the Republican Party.”

The group has several affiliated organizations. It has a super PAC to support more moderate Republican candidates, a policy advocacy organization, and a congressional caucus.

Leadership

The president and CEO is Sarah Chamberlain. Chamberlain was previously the COO, CFO, and executive director of the organization. She is a former staffer for former U.S. Representative Amory Houghton Jr. (R-NY) and was the first executive director of the John Quincy Adams Society, a group promoting student interest in foreign affairs. ¹

Andy Mekelburg serves as the organization’s chief of staff. Previously, he was vice president for government relations at Verizon for 11 years. He got his start in politics as a Brookings Institution Congressional Fellow in former Rep. Houghton Jr.’s Congressional office. ²

Sharon Jackson serves as the events manager of the organization. Before she joined the organization, she was the president of her own full service and travel management firm. Before that, she worked for the Brookings Institution, Winrock International, and the United Nations Foundation. ³

Members

In the 116^th Congress, the Republican Main Street Partnership has 51 members. ⁴ They are:

• Don Bacon (R-Nebraska)
• Troy Balderson (R-Ohio)
• Mike Bost (R-Illinois)
• Susan Brooks (R-Indiana)
• Larry Bucshon (R-Indiana)
• Ken Calvert (R-California)
• Chris Collins (R-New York)
• Paul Cook (R-California)
• John Curtis (R-Utah)
• Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida)
• Sean Duffy (R-Wisconsin)
• Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota)
• Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania)
• Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebraska)
• Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin)
• Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio)
• Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio)
• Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon (R-Puerto Rico)
• Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Washington)
• Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan)
• Will Hurd (R-Texas)
• Bill Johnson (R-Ohio)
• Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota)
• David Joyce (R-Ohio)
• John Katco (R-New York)
• Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania)
• Peter King (R-New York)
• Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois)
• Roger Marshall (R-Kansas)
• Brian Mast (R-Florida)
• David McKinley (R-West Virginia)
• Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington)
• Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania)
• Carol Miller (R-West Virginia)
• John Moolenaar (R-Michigan)
• Dan Newhouse (R-Washington)
• Tom Reed (R-New York)
• Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pennsylvania)
• John Rutherford (R-Florida)
• Mike Simpson (R-Idaho)
• Chris Smith (R-New Jersey)
• Lloyd Smucker (R-Pennsylvania)
• Pete Stauber (R-Minnesota)
• Elise Stefanik (R-New York)
• Bryan Steil (R-Wisconsin)
• Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)
• Michael Turner (R-Ohio)
• Fred Upton (R-Michigan)
• Greg Walden (R-Oregon)
• Michael Waltz (R-Florida)
• Lee Zeldin (R-New York)

History

The Republican Main Street Partnership was founded in 1997 by then-Rep. Amory Houghton Jr. ⁵ Houghton retired in 2004 and remains on the board of RMSP. ⁶

In 2007, it endorsed the “Divided We Fail” effort to encourage bipartisan solutions. The effort was backed by the AARP, Business Roundtable, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Service Employees International Union. ⁷

In late 2015, RMSP tried to reach out to women voters. It proposed a policy platform around issues such as workplace flexibility, female veterans’ issues, and fighting human trafficking among other issues. It supported this drive with the Women2Women tour of female member lawmakers meeting with women. ⁸

In 2017, the Republican Main Street Partnership’s Main Street Caucus was revived in the U.S. House by then-Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and had over 70 members at its launch. ⁹

Funding

The Republican Main Street Partnership has traditionally enjoyed financial support from labor unions, which typically support Democratic Party candidates for office. As of 2008, the National Education Association has donated at least $200,000 to the group. Since 2001, it has received at least $300,000 from the SEIU. ¹⁰

In the 2014 election cycle, the RMSP’s Super PAC received $1.8 million from labor unions. The International Union of Operating Engineers and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters donated $500,000 each. The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) donated $325,000. ¹¹

1. “RMSP Staff”. 2019. Republican Main Street Partnership. Accessed May 19. https://republicanmainstreet.org/about/rmsp-staff/.
2. “RMSP Staff”. 2019. Republican Main Street Partnership. Accessed May 19. https://republicanmainstreet.org/about/rmsp-staff/.
3. “RMSP Staff”. 2019. Republican Main Street Partnership. Accessed May 19. https://republicanmainstreet.org/about/rmsp-staff/.
4. “Members”. 2019. Republican Main Street Partnership. Accessed May 19. https://republicanmainstreet.org/members/.
5. “History”. 2019. Republican Main Street Partnership. Accessed May 19. https://republicanmainstreet.org/about/history/.
6. “Board Of Directors”. 2019. Republican Main Street Partnership. Accessed May 19. https://republicanmainstreet.org/about/board-of-directors/.
7.  “Main Street Endorses Divided We Fail Effort, December 4Th, 2007”. 2007. Republican Main Street Partnership. https://republicanmainstreet.org/main-street-endorses-divided-we-fail-effort-december-4th-2007/.
8. Hulse, Carl. 2015. “An Effort To Give Women A Voice In The Republican Party”. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/29/us/politics/an-effort-to-give-women-a-voice-in-the-republican-party.html.
9. Eaton, Sabrina. 2019. “Republican Main Street Partnership Forms New Capitol Hill Caucus With Ohio Ties”. Cleveland Plain-Dealer. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2017/09/old_republican_group_forms_new.html.
10. Higgins, Sean. 2015. “GOP Group’s Super PAC Mostly Funded By Unions”. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-groups-super-pac-mostly-funded-by-unions.   
11. Higgins, Sean. 2015. “GOP Group’s Super PAC Mostly Funded By Unions”. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-groups-super-pac-mostly-funded-by-unions.