District of Columbia Republican Party

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District of Columbia Republican Party

The District of Columbia Republican Party (DC GOP) is the District of Columbia affiliate of the United States Republican Party. It was founded on June 19, 1855, and is made up of registered Republican voters living in Washington, D.C. elected to serve as the governing body of the Party. The party chairman is Jose Cunningham and the party is housed in the District of Columbia alongside the Republican Party national headquarters.

The party faces steep difficulties in getting its candidates elected, as Democrats overwhelmingly outnumber Republicans in the District of Columbia. No Republican has ever been elected mayor since

D.C. Council since Carol Schwartz
left office in 2009.

As of October 31, 2023, there are 23,343 registered voters affiliated with the Republican Party of the District of Columbia, or 5.05% of all registered voters.[2]

Leadership and organization

The District of Columbia Republican Party is chaired by Patrick Mara. The DC Republican National Committeeman is Robert J. Kabel and the DC Republican National Committeewoman is Jill Homan. The party is currently conducting a search for a new executive director.[3]

Members of the DC GOP elect its chairman every two years. The Republican National Committeeman and Committeewoman are elected at the same time as the DC Republican presidential primary every four years, which is open to all Republican voters. The chairman appoints executive committee members with the approval of the DC GOP. Election to the DC GOP requires nomination by an existing DC GOP member and confirmation by the DC GOP Membership Recruitment Committee.

Electoral strategy

According to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (D.C. Code 1-221(d)(2)), "at no time shall there be more than three members (including the Chairman) serving at large on the Council who are affiliated with the same political party."[4] This gives the DC Republicans their largest opportunity, and their main efforts are usually directed at this race. Rather than defeat the Democrats, a Republican candidate for an at-large seat need only defeat any independents, Libertarians, and DC Statehood Green Party candidates in the race.

Recent history

The most successful and high-profile Republican in elected office of recent years is former

2002
), all unsuccessfully.

In 2008,

Michael A. Brown, formerly a Democrat, from receiving the largest vote share of the non-Democrats up for election, leaving the Council with no Republican members since 2009.[7] The D.C. Republican Party sued the D.C. electoral board, arguing that, even though Brown officially registered as an independent in May 2008, he practically campaigned as a Democratic candidate. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals found that the D.C. electoral board and Ethics correctly considered Brown to be an independent during the election and that the Board should not investigate the day-to-day associations of a particular candidate to determine whether their party registration or lack thereof is genuine.[8]

Allegations raised by Tim Day, former Ward 5 DC Council candidate, and Paul Craney, former executive director, helped initiate an investigation into Councilmember Harry Thomas, who defeated Day in a 2010 race.[9] Thomas resigned in January 2012. Thomas agreed to 2 federal felony charges and was sentenced to 38 months in prison.[10]

As of 2022, there are nine council members affiliated with the Democratic Party and two council members not affiliated with any political party.

Mayoral election results

Year Mayoral nominee Votes %
1974
 Jackson R. Champion 3,501 3.65%
1978
 Arthur Fletcher 27,366 28.09%
1982
 E. Brooke Lee Jr. 16,501 14.07%
1986
 Carol Schwartz 42,354 32.84%
1990
 Maurice Turner 18,653 11.47%
1994
 Carol Schwartz 76,902 41.87%
1998
 Carol Schwartz 42,280 30.24%
2002
 Carol Schwartz 45,407 34.47%
2006
 David Kranich 6,744 6.13%
2010
 No candidate
2014
 No candidate[a]
2018
 No candidate
2022 Stacia Hall 11,510 5.83%
  1. ^ Former Republicans David Catania and Carol Schwartz ran as independents and received 34.6% and 7.0%, respectively, but neither was endorsed by the DC Republican Party.

References

  1. ^ Winger, Richard. "March 2021 Ballot Access News Print Edition". Ballot Access News. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Voter Registration Statistics" District of Columbia Board of Elections. April 2018.
  3. ^ Sommer, Will (November 19, 2015). "Of Mice and Maras: College Sophomore Frays D.C. GOP's Nerves". Washington City Paper.
  4. ^ "Title IV - The District Charter: Part A - The Council: Subpart 1 - Creation of the Council: Creation and Membership".
  5. ^ Nakamura, David A. (July 21, 2008). "Board of Trade Endorses Mara Over Schwartz". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008.
  6. ^ Stewart, Nikita (September 2, 2008). "Primary Pits Schwartz In a GOP Showdown". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ General Election 2008: Certified Results". District of Columbia Board of Elections & Ethics. November 24, 2008. Archived from the original on November 27, 2008.
  8. ^ "Kabel v. DC Bd. of Elections and Ethics", 962 A.2d 919 (D.C. 2008).
  9. ^ DeBonis, Mike (January 6, 2012). "D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. resigns after being charged with embezzlement". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ Craig, Tim; DeBonis, Mike (May 4, 2012). "D.C. Politics". The Washington Post.

External links

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