Chairman Ron Weiser Senate Leader Arlan Meekhof National Committeewoman Kathy Berden | House Leader Kevin Cotter National Committeeman Rob Steele | |
Founded July 6, 1854, in Jackson | ||
The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan. It is sometimes referred to as MIGOP, which simply means Michigan Grand Old Party.
Contents
- History and notable Michigan Republicans
- US House of Representatives
- Statewide
- Michigan Legislature
- United States Cabinet Members from Michigan who served under a Republican President
- Michigan Republican State Committee
- Current members
- References
Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates to the Republican State Convention, and Jeff Sakwa is co-chairman. Its Republican National Committee members are Rob Steele and Kathy Berden. Its party Vice-Chairs are Administrative Vice-Chair David Wolkinson, Youth Vice-Chair Michael Banerian, Coalitions Vice-Chair Adi Sathi, Outreach Vice-Chair Kelly Mitchell, Grassroots Vice-Chair Wendy Day, and Ethnic Vice-Chair Darwin Jiles Jr. McDaniel became the chair of the National Republican Party in 2017.
History and notable Michigan Republicans
The Republican Party was born in the early 1850s by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. The first official Republican meeting took place on July 6, 1854 in Jackson, Michigan with David S. Walbridge serving as chairman. The name "Republican" was chosen because it alluded to equality and reminded individuals of Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. At the Jackson convention, the new party adopted a platform and nominated candidates for office in Michigan.
In 1856, the Republicans became a national party when John C. Fremont was nominated for president of the United States under the "Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men, Fremont" slogan. Even though they were considered a "third party" because the Democrats and Whigs represented the two-party system at the time, Fremont received 33 percent of the vote. Four years later, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to win the White House.
Republicans have been elected to the governorship of Michigan in 27 of 48 gubernatorial elections. The first was Kingsley Bingham in 1855 and the most recent is Rick Snyder, who was elected in 2010, and then re-elected in 2014.
U.S. House of Representatives
The Republican Party currently holds a 9-5 majority of Michigan's U.S. House delegation:
Statewide
Michigan Legislature
United States Cabinet Members from Michigan who served under a Republican President
The following are in order of Presidential succession.
Michigan Republican State Committee
The Michigan Republican State Committee is the state central committee of the Michigan Republican Party. It is composed of seven members from each of Michigan's fifteen Congressional district Republican committees, the Chairman, Co-Chairman, the various Vice Chairmen of the Party, and the Secretary, Treasurer and General and Financial Counsels. It selects Michigan's two representatives to the Republican National Committee. Additionally, the Chairperson of each County Republican Party organization is a non-voting ex officio member of the State Committee.