Maine Republican Party

The Maine Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in Maine. It was founded in Strong, Maine on August 7, 1854. The state Chairman is Charles M. Webster.

The Maine GOP is noted for its historically strong state College Republican federation. Other affiliate groups include the Maine Federation of Republican Women and the Maine Federation of Young Republicans.

Party history[edit]

The Republican Party formed in Maine in 1854 due to Prohibition and the abolitionist movement. Hannibal Hamlin left the Democratic Party because of the slavery issue and helped form the Republican Party and he was the state's first Republican governor. In 1860, he became the first Republican Vice President after Abraham Lincoln won the presidency.

From the 1860s until 1900, James G. Blaine rose as a dominant Republican figure. He was the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State for three Republican administrations. He ran for President in 1884 but lost to Grover Cleveland. In the late 1800s, Thomas B. Reed served in the House of Representatives for three terms. He started many reforms and was sometimes referred to as "Czar Reed". "Reed's Rules of Order" are still used in Maine Legislatures.

Except for rare lapses, the Republicans dominated Maine politics until 1954, when young progressives from the Democratic Party gained strength.^[1]

Margaret Chase Smith was the first American woman elected to serve in both houses of Congress(elected to the House of Representatives in 1940 and the Senate in 1948.) In 1964, she was placed in the nomination for presidency at the Republican National Convention.^[1]

Current officeholders[edit]

The Maine Republican Party controls the governor's office and holds a majority in both the Maine Senate and Maine House of Representatives. It also holds one of the state's U.S. Senate seats.

Members of Congress[edit]

• U.S. Senate
  • Susan Collins

Statewide offices[edit]

Governor Paul Lepage.

• Governor: Paul Lepage

State Legislature[edit]

• President of the Senate: Kevin Raye
  • Senate Majority Leader: Jonathan Courtney
    • Assistant Senate Majority Leader: Deb Plowman
• Speaker of the House: Robert "Bob" Nutting
  • House Majority Leader: Philip Curtis
    • Assistant House Majority Leader: Andre Cushing III

State committee[edit]

Leadership:^[2]

• Charlie Webster, Chairman, Farmington
• Ruth Summers, Vice Chairman, Scarborough
• Charles Mahaleris, Secretary, Augusta
• Benjamin Lombard, Treasurer, Augusta
• Mark Willis, National Committeeman, Washington County
• Ashley Ryan, National Committeewoman, Cumberland County
• Tom Shields, Androscoggin County Chair, Auburn
• Hayes Gahagan, Aroostook County Chair, Presque Isle
• Jan Love, Cumberland County Chair, Naples
• Mike Wells, Franklin County Chair, Wilton
• Eric White, Hancock County Chair, Trenton
• Garfield Holmes, Kennebec County Chair, West Gardiner
• Jan Dolcater, Knox County Chair, Rockport
• James Carlton, Lincoln County Chair, Damariscotta
• Steve Merrill, Oxford County Chair, Norway
• Traci Gauthier, Penobscot County Chair, Lincoln
• Andy Torbett, Piscataquis County Chair, Atkinson
• Kyle Rodgers, Sagadahoc County Chair
• Dena Worster, Somerset County Chair, Pamyra
• Ray St.Onge, Waldo County Chair, Jackson
• Chris Gardiner, Washington County Chair, Edmunds
• Ron Morrell, York County Chair, Berwick
• Allison Geagan, Young Republicans, Orrington
• Tyler Leclair, College Republicans

Controversies[edit]

2010[edit]

It caused a stir during its 2010 convention when the historically moderate party passed a conservative platform supported by "Tea Party" activists. The new platform calls for the elimination of the United States Department of Education and the Federal Reserve System, the rejection of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a freeze and prohibition on stimulus spending, and the prosecution of perpetrators of the "global warming myth". It also demands a "return to the principles of Austrian Economics", and the assertion that healthcare is "not a right" but "a service" that can be addressed only by using "market based solutions". Indeed, the platform says, "The principles upon which the Republican Party was founded, to which we as Citizens seek return, and to which we demand our elected representatives abide, are summarized as follows:^[3][4]

1. The Constitutions, both State and Federal, are the framework to which any and all legislation must adhere.
2. State sovereignty must be regained and retained on all issues specifically relegated to the States by the constitution.
3. National sovereignty shall be preserved and retained as dominant over any attempted unconstitutional usurpations of such by international treaty.
4. It is the responsibility and duty, of "We the People", to educate both ourselves and others; to demand honest elections free of corruption, and to hold our elected officials to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and loyalty to the constitution.

2012[edit]

During the 2012 Maine caucuses, the Maine Republican Party received heavy criticism for mistakes and omissions in voter tallies.^[5] The Waldo County GOP Committee called for a censure of Chairman Charlie Webster for his handling of the controversy.^[6]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Maine Republican Party
• Rules and By Laws of the Party
• Maine College Republicans
• Maine Federation of Republican Women
• Maine Federation of Young Republicans
• Penobscot County Maine Republican Party