A group of GOP lawmakers that bills itself as the “governing wing” of the party was set Thursday to hold its opening forum of the 114th Congress on the heels of an insurgent uprising that marred Rep. John Boehner’s re-election as speaker.
The Republican Main Street Partnership, previously identified with socially liberal or moderate Republicans but refashioned as an organization focused on fiscal issues, added 14 new members in the 2014 midterm elections.
The organization, led by former Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, a Boehner ally, now boasts a roster of 62 Republicans in the House and four in the Senate.
“They’ve moved away from social issues and are focused on fiscally-conservative, kitchen table and common-sense type issues,” a GOP source said. “The forum [Thursday] is trying to shine a light on some of the proposals their members will try to pass this Congress. They view themselves as the governing wing of the Republican Party — the folks who want to get things done as opposed to say the hell no caucus.”
Several senior and freshman Republicans were expected at Thursday’s morning’s kick-off forum, according to organizers, among them House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan and Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina. The freshmen Republicans who have joined the group include Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Barbara Comstock of Virginia and Ryan Zinke of Montana.
Main Street actually consists of multiple entities, with a political action committee, a super PAC and a nonprofit arm. In the 2014 election cycle, Main Street invested more than $500,000 each in Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, both of whom held off primary challengers from the Right. The group employs about a half-dozen staffers, recently adding a policy director and events coordinator.
On Tuesday, Boehner was elected to a third term as speaker.
The outcome was never in doubt, but a disorganized coup attempt by mostly Tea Party affiliated lawmakers has left some lingering bad blood — both among disgruntled conservatives and the majority of rank-and-file House Republicans who believed Boehner’s challengers were acting in self-interest.
