The Voice of the MainstreamMainstream Republicans of Washington was founded over 30 years ago to provide a voice for moderation within the Republican Party. We believe in President Ronald Reagan's inclusive view of the party and work to ensure that both moderates and conservatives have a voice in the Republican Party of Washington State. Mainstream, through its state and federal political action committees, has supported the election of Republican candidates with over $500,000 in contributions and voter contact projects since 2000. We focus on "swing voters in swing districts" were the greatest good can be done for statewide, congressional and legislative candidates. Mainstream endorses candidates pre-primary, takes positions on initiatives and referenda and endorses in non-partisan races, including the state Supreme Court. Click here to learn about who and what we endoresed last year. Leaders in the Mainstream movement include our state Attorney General Rob McKenna, Secretary of State Sam Reed and former elected official including Governor Dan Evans, Senator Slade Gorton, Lt. Governor Joel Pritchard, Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland and Secretary of State Ralph Munro. If you support our values and believe in President Reagan's view of a "big tent" for the Republican Party we invite you to join our organization. |
Employing a strategy analogous to Custer's at Little Big Horn, the hard-line ideology that permeated the '64 National GOP Convention forced ruin in the General Election for Republicans throughout the country and in Washington State. Washington's representation in the U.S. House plunged from six Republicans and one Democrat to two Republicans and five Democrats. In the state House, Republican numbers dropped from 47 to 39 of 99 and the numbers in the state Senate fell to 17. We pachyderms suffered equal devastation throughout the nation. 
Eager to capitalize on this focus, and the resources made available, Washington State's young Republican leaders made their move. The Young Republican Federation, the College Republican League, Choose an Effective City Council of Seattle (CHECC), and other organizations plunged into the fray.
To capitalize on the success of the AFW movement, Bayley and Reed looked to the future by calling a conference in 1969. The first conference, now called the Cascade Conference, (see below for a complete list of conferences, locations and organizers) was held on Discovery Bay. The invitation explained, "The purpose of the conference will be to share ideas, establish rapport, and to simply get acquainted." It worked. Around forty young, moderate Republican leaders gathered and held lively discussions about state and local issues. 
Cascade Conference III, held in 1973, was one of the best with approximately 140 people from throughout the state meeting up at the Snoqualmie Summit Lodge to be inspired, stimulated and challenged. Cascade Conference IV was held late summer of 1974 at the Crystal Mountain Lodge. Coming right in the middle of campaign season in a very difficult year, it focused almost entirely on campaigning. And being the year of Watergate, Nixon's resignation, and Ford's pardon, the atmosphere was somewhat grim… Despite it all, AFW claimed remarkable success targeting a dozen tough legislative races and winning eight – including such notables as Rod Chandler, Sue Gould and Jim Whiteside.
In 1988, the Washington State nomination of Presidential candidate Pat Robertson inspired further organization amongst moderate Republicans. The 1990 Cascade Conference, primarily organized by Sam Reed and Doug Sutherland, focused on just that. Lt. Governor Joel Pritchard played an integral role at the conference by leading organizational discussions and debates about the mission, values, goals and formal name of the emerging organization, the Mainstream Republicans of Washington (MRW). The central goals of MRW were two-fold: Elect Republicans, from the courthouse to the White House, who adhere to mainstream Republican principles; and keep people in the Republican Party by providing a moderate Republican alternative with which to identify. 
The group consisted of Republican activists and elected officials committed to party unity in an effort to regain Republican dominance in Washington. Reed, Sutherland, state Representative Louise Miller and businessman Tom Ranken served throughout the first few years chairing the new organization. The Cascade Conference began to be held every year to focus on mainstream issues, gather people from throughout the state to maintain valuable relationships, and help elect Republicans to office. 
The early 90s experienced a proliferation of local mainstream groups throughout the state, beginning in Thurston County. Groups in Benton/Franklin, Chelan/Douglas, Yakima, Skagit, Pierce and informal groups in Spokane and Snohomish have followed.
We certainly have come a long way since the Custer massacre of '64. Our organization continues to attract those who wish to join together in our common cause of seeking political distinction via a moderate philosophy while demonstrating the "capacity, the intellectual fiber, and the political courage to tread new paths" that Gov. Evans called for more than three decades ago.
1969 Chevy Chase Inn, Discovery Bay, Conference Co-Chairs Sam Reed & Chris Bayley 
1994 Enzian, Leavenworth, Chairman Mark Gardner, Conference Chair Joan Kraft 
Initiated in 2003 by the Board of Directors in memory of Representative Maryann Mitchell to recognize outstanding Mainstream leadership. Nominees shall be active state legislators who have run for office as Mainstream candidates, and have demonstrated their support for Mainstream principles throughout their legislative careers. They will have ascended to leadership positions in the Republican caucus as an indication that they have been judged favorably by their peers, and have served with distinction.