The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) Board of Directors are excited and optimistic about the election results. The most exciting results for Republican Liberty Caucus members is electing two of our own members to Congress:

Dr. Rand Paul is Senator-elect from Kentucky. Justin Amash (pictured, right) is Representative-elect from Michigan’s Third Congressional District. Congratulations, Rand and Justin! RLC supporters have no doubt that these two champions of liberty will work vigorously to promote our vision of a free country in Congress.

The RLC is also pleased that Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, John Koster of Washington state, Chip Cravaack of Minnesota, and Steve Chabot of Ohio will join Dr. Ron Paul and our other pro-liberty Republican legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Joining Rand Paul in the Senate are RLC-endorsed Senate candidates Mike Lee of Utah and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Two RLC-endorsed candidates for Governor, Paul LePage of Maine and Nikki Haley of South Carolina, were elected. LePage and Haley come from very different backgrounds and from different parts of the country, but are united in their strong belief in the individual and faith in the free market system.

Other key RLC victories and races we are still watching are below.

Arkansas: State Rep. Mark Martin, a RLC endorsed candidate, won his bid for Secretary of State. He is the first statewide Republican elected official since former Gov. Mike Huckabee left office.

California: Despite losing on the RLC-endorsed Proposition 19 to legalize marijuana in California, the RLC’s positions on Prop. 27 (no to eliminate the state redistricting commission) and Prop. 21 (a vehicle license surcharge to fund state parks) were adopted. Additionally, the RLC’s positions on Prop. 20 and 26 were adopted. These propositions related to Congressional redistricting and the process to impose state/local fees. See the proposition results here and view the RLC’s positions on each of the proposals here.

Arizona: 55 percent of state voters supported an amendment to the state constitution disallowing the Obamacare individual mandate to take effect in Arizona. Voters also approved medical marijuana.

Colorado: Despite Ken Buck’s Senate loss, RLC-endorsed candidate Donald Beezley defeated an incumbent and is now an elected State Representative from Broomfield.

Idaho: RLC-endorsed candidate for Bonner County Commissioner in District 2, Mike Nielson, won election on a platform of transparency and balanced budgets. Nielsen said he was eager to start getting more detailed budget information on the county website and wants to get a head start on the 2012 spending plan, according to The Bonner County Daily Bee.

Indiana: Republican Liberty Caucus member Steve Davisson was elected State Representative in Southern Indiana’s 73rd district. Congratulations, Hoosiers!

Kentucky: In addition to Rand Paul’s victory, RLC-backed candidate Thomas Massie was elected Judge Executive in Lewis County.

Maine: In addition to the victory of Paul LePage for Governor, RLC candidates for State Rep. and State Senate also found success. State House Challengers Michael McClellan, Ryan Harmon, Richard Malaby, Beth O’Connor, and Eleanor Espling (pictured, above left) — each endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Maine — won election. Additionally, former State Senator Lois Snowe-Mello won her old seat back and State Rep. Doug Thomas was elected to the State Senate. The RLC had a great day in Maine yesterday!

Maryland: Cindy Jones, a RLC member and delegate at our 2009 Convention in Florida, was elected to the St. Marys County Commission. Among all of the county commissioner races, Mrs. Jones had the largest margin of victory and the highest vote total. Four of the five Commission seats are now held by Republicans.

Michigan: RLC-endorsed candidate for State Senate Arlen Meekhof was elected to the post. Meekhof wants to repeal the Michigan Business Tax surcharge and bring jobs to the state.

Minnesota: Despite losing the Governors race narrowly, the RLC had its coalition of candidates elected to the State Senate and the State House. Kathy Lohmer (pictured, right), Andrea Kieffer, Doug Wardlow, Kurt Bills, and Sondra Erickson were elected to the House and Dave Brown and Dave Thompson were elected to the Senate. Former Minnesota RLC Secretary Norann Dillon narrowly lost in her race against an incumbent in a Democrat district. Congratulations to these new legislators and to the Minnesota RLC!

Missouri: In The Show Me State, RLC-endorsed candidate Paul Curtman was elected State Representative. He will represent parts of Jefferson, Franklin and St. Louis counties. Additionally, RLC-endorsed candidate Brian Nieves was elected to the State Senate. Two RLC-endorsed incumbent State Representatives, Tim Jones and Shane Schoeller, will be taking over leadership positions in the Missouri House of Representatives. The Missouri RLC is hosting its 2010 Convention on Saturday, November 13 in Springfield.

Montana: In Montana the RLC has an incumbent coalition in the State House and the entire slate of RLC-backed candidates was reelected. Additionally, former State Senator and longtime liberty advocate Jerry O’Neill was elected to the House of Representatives.

New Hampshire: Former Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire Chair Jim Forsythe was elected to the State Senate and State Rep. candidates Cameron DeJong and Andrew Manuse were elected to the State House. RLC Board member Paul Mirski was elected to the State House in Grafton as was former RLC Chair Dan McGuire in Merrimack. Longtime liberty activists Keith Murphy and Seth Cohn won election to the State House from Hillsborough and Merrimack, too. A full list of RLC victories from New Hampshire can be found here.

North Carolina: Republican Liberty Caucus-endorsed candidate Glen Bradley won election to the State House of Representatives. Congratulations to Glen and the North Carolina RLC!

Oklahoma: 65 percent of voters supported a ballot proposition to rebuke Obamacare by not allowing the individual mandate contained in the health care law to be enacted in the Sooner State.

South Carolina: RLC-backed candidate Curtis Loftis, who ousted the incumbent State Treasurer earlier this year in the primary, is now the State Treasurer-elect of The Palmetto State.

Uah: Two new RLC-endorsed candidates won election in Utah — Daniel Thatcher was elected to the State Senate and Ken Ivory won election to the State House. Ivory joins several other RLC incumbents in the House.

Texas: The Texas RLC helped elect two new State Representatives, Jason Isaac and David Simpson. Additionally, former Texas RLC Chairman Melissa Goodwin was elected Justice on the Third Court of Appeals. RLC Advisory Board member Jerry Patterson was re-elected State Land Commissioner. A full list of Texas results are available at our blog.

Wisconsin: In Wisconsin, a coalition of RLC-backed candidates for State House have won election for the first time. The slate includes: Andre Jacque from Green Bay, Jim Steineke from Appleton, Chris Kapenga from Delafield, Evan Wynn of Whitewater, Scott Krug of Black River Falls, Jeremy Thiesfeldt of Fond du Lac, and Roger Rivard of Rice Lake. Mr. Krug beat incumbent Marlin Schneider, who served in the legislature continuously since 1970. Congratulations to the Wisconsin RLC and Badger State voters!

Wyoming: Endorsed State Representative candidate Gerald Gay won election to the legislature for the first time.

These election results show not only the strength of the Tea Party, but also the disgust of average Americans with unresponsive, anti-liberty bureaucrats. The results also illustrate that liberty principles are popular and will make a comeback!

The battle has just begun, so thanks to all of our activists and candidates from across the country. Thanks especially to the state and national officers of the RLC who allow our organization to function.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is a grassroots coalition of liberty-loving Americans.

Won’t you join us in this critical battle to win hearts and minds for liberty and Constitutional restoration?

Gwen Moore, Jim Sensenbrenner, and Paul Ryan have a deal.

One of the headlines on today’s Politico discusses how House Minority Leader John Boener will campaign this weekend for Republican U.S. House candidate Rich Iott in northwest Ohio.

But don’t expect to see Republican incumbents Paul Ryan or Jim Sensenbrenner campaigning for any of Wisconsin’s Republican U.S. House candidates any time soon.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, a state affiliate of the national RLC, became the first group to expose a sweetheart deal between federally elected Democrats and Republicans in the state. The deal: Democrat and Republican incumbent Members of Congress will not campaign against each other.

Ryan and Sensenbrenner have not lifted a finger to help Republican challenger Reid Ribble, who is in the lead in northeast Wisconsin, or Republican challenger Dan Sebring, running against Gwen Moore in the Milwaukee area.

An incumbent member of Congress has not lost in the state in over ten years and only four Members of Congress have lost in The Badger State in the last 28 years, according to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

As a result of the discovery and distribution of this information, the RLC has been featured on WTAQ radio (see “Gentleman’s Agreement” segments) in Green Bay and at the WTAQ website. Learn more about the incident at the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin news page.

President Obama counted on Midwestern states to deliver his 2008 Presidential victory. His popularity in the Midwest was high, having won by large margins in states like Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Clearly Midwest voters were interested in change and a new direction for the country.

But with less than two weeks until the 2010 mid-term elections, the Midwest has become the President’s biggest problem area.

The President’s party is poised to lose at least four Senate races in the Midwest (IN, MO, ND, OH) while two others remain tight contests in which the GOP candidate has been consistently leading (IL, WI). Of the four open Midwest gubernatorial contests, the GOP is posting solid results in three of them (IL, OH, WI) with another, Minnesota, still up for grabs.

Looking at swing Congressional races is where you really get an idea of the Democrats’ Midwestern problem. States that rarely have competitive races like Minnesota and Missouri each have several vulnerable incumbents in 2010. Missouri Blue Dog Democrat incumbent Ike Skelton, who has represented central-west Missouri for more than 30 years, is facing perhaps his toughest challenge yet. A similar situation is facing U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, who represents northeast Minnesota. Oberstar has been in Congress consistently for nearly 40 years and is in the race of his life. Tim Walz, a second term Democrat from a southern Minnesota swing district, is facing a tough reelection battle as well.

Wisconsin — which is thought to be liberal but is more accurately categorized as a swing state — currently has only three Republicans in its eight member Congressional delegation but may have just two Democrats in its delegation by January, 2011. Vulnerable incumbents there include Reps. Steve Kagen (D) in the northeastern part of the state and Ron Kind (D) in the west.

Illinois and Ohio have between five and six seats each that are extremely competitive House races while four Michigan and three Iowa and Wisconsin seats are up in the air.

Illinois’ western-most district, represented by second term Congressman Phil Hare, was a seat pundits never thought would be in play. But the rural, gerrymandered district is now a national target of Republicans, who have an excellent candidate in businessman Bobby Schilling. Mark Kirk’s vacated seat in the moderate northern Chicago burbs is also up for grabs and is really the Democrat’s only pickup opportunity in the Midwest this cycle. Reps. Melissa Bean (D) in the western Chicago suburbs, Bill Foster (D) in the southern Chicago suburbs, and Debbie Halvorson (D) in central Illinois are also in tough reelection battles. Halvorson, who doesn’t shy away from any of her votes or support of the Obama agenda, has been down as far as eighteen points in recent surveys.

In Iowa, all three of the incumbent Democrat Congressmen, Reps. Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack, and Leonard Boswell could lose. Indiana’s Joe Donnelly (D) and Baron Hill (D) are facing tough challenges and Brad Ellsworth’s open seat in southern Indiana is poised for a Republican pickup.

The upper Midwest is heavily in play, too. Bart Stupak’s open Michigan upper Peninsula seat is leaning Republican, as are the two northern Wisconsin seats held by the retiring Rep. David Obey (D) and second term Democrat Steve Kagen.

The Democrats are losing rural voters who are deeply concerned about the economy and didn’t see any added benefits after the stimulus and Obamacare.

Voters in rural Ohio districts like the eastern-most districts of Reps. Zack Space (D) and Charlie Wilson (D) may be poised to boot out the incumbents. The same is true of swing districts in Ohio like that of northeast Ohio’s John Boccieri  and central Ohio’s Mary Jo Kilroy, first-term Democrats who rubber-stamped the entire Obama agenda. Suburban districts represented by Steve Driehaus (D) and Betty Sutton (D), which are centered around Akron and Cincinatti, are also in play.

Both the North and South Dakota At Large seats are up for grabs for the first time in many years, too. All told, the entire region is in play — from Skelton’s seat in central Missouri to Wilson’s seat in eastern Ohio and from Kagen’s seat in northeast Wisconsin all the way westward to the Dakotas.

A recent Rasmussen poll showed that voters are angry with Members of Congress who voted for Obamacare, the auto bailout, or the stimulus package. By significant margins, voters do not want to reelect incumbents who voted for these unpopular parts of the Obama agenda.

The Midwest’s economy is suffering and people are out of work. Jobs is the main topic of most Congressional debates in the region. Midwest voters are likely to make significant changes in who represents them in Congress. Whether those changes will help the struggling economy recover and foster job creation in the region remains to be seen.

But one thing is for sure: the Democrats have a Midwestern sized problem.

In the past year Wisconsin has gone from having no RLC affiliate at all to having an active chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus.

In the past eight months the RLCWI has chartered its affiliate, reached out at the state GOP Convention, introduced itself to party leaders/activists, protested the Wisconsin GOP’s pre-primary endorsements, and endorsed a liberty slate of candidates. Their progress is documented at http://wi.rlc.org/.

The endorsed candidates for State Assembly, who will face primary opposition on September 14, include:

∙ Andre Jacque for State Representative, District 2 (Green Bay)
∙ Jim Steineke for State Representative, District 5 (Appleton)
∙ Brad Sponholz for State Representative, District 7 (Milwaukee)
∙ Chris Kapenga (pictured) for State Representative, District 33 (Waukesha)
∙ Evan Wynn for State Representative, District 43 (Whitewater)
∙ Both Jeremy Thiesfeldt and Timothy Lakin for State Representative, District 52 (Fond du Lac)
∙ Chuck Schmidt for State Representative, District 57 (Appleton)
∙ Scott Krug for State Representative, District 72 (Wisconsin Rapids)
∙ Roger Rivard for State Representative, District 75 (Superior)
∙ Dave Redick for State Representative, District 77 (Madison)

“This is a great slate of candidates. We hope they make it through their primaries so we can reshape the Wisconsin Assembly with a liberty slate,” said Wisconsin RLC Chairman Michael S. Murphy. Learn more about the candidates at http://wi.rlc.org/endorsements/.

Congratulations to the Wisconsin RLC!

Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats have come together to introduce bipartisan legislation to curb the never-ending war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) have introduced legislation requiring the President to develop a flexible timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The legislation would require the President to provide a plan for drawing down our forces in Afghanistan. The legislation also increases oversight by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) over work done by private contractors with records of waste, fraud and abuse in order to safeguard U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Senator Feingold has also offered a flexible timetable to draw down U.S. troops from Afghanistan as an amendment to the supplemental spending bill currently being considered by the Senate.

Although the legislation does not set a specific date for withdrawal, it’s a step in the right direction.  It was recently announced that over 1,000 young men and women serving in the U.S. armed forces have died in that war.

It’s long past time to end it.

I have been objecting loudly to the GOP nominating processes in various states for many years now.

In short: the Republican Party Establishment has swooped into competitive Republican Party primaries (election contests that VOTERS should decide) to coronate certain candidates and exclude candidates they do not prefer.

This practice began during the Bush Administration, as far as I can tell. It’s a disgusting process and is truly politics as its worst.

Here is an article in which I criticize the Wisconsin Republican Party for nominating two candidates — one for Governor and another for U.S. Senate — at its Convention on Saturday despite the fact that one other candidate is running in each of these races. Enjoy!

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin, which was chartered in December of last year, had its first major presence at the state Republican Party Convention. The Convention, which took place over the weekend in downtown Milwaukee, featured Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty and the much-loved Congressman Paul Ryan.

At the Convention, Chairman Michael S. Murphy handed RLC literature out to longtime Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner and had a brief conversation with Wisconsin Republican Party Chair Reince Preibus. Additionally, the Wisconsin RLC received numerous requests for membership applications and talked to candidates who wanted to seek the Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin endorsement.

Several candidates who have already been endorsed by the state affiliate were being actively promoted by RLC members, such as Terri McCormick for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th District and Ed Thompson for State Senate in District 31.

Below are some photos of Wisconsin RLC members at the 2010 GOP Convention. A special thanks to Chairman Michael S. Murphy and Secretary Paul Sanchez for their hard work to prepare for liberty outreach at the Convention.

Learn more about the Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus at http://wi.rlc.org/.

Secretary Paul Sanchez with RLC endorsed candidate for State Senate from Rock County, Rick Richard.

Two RLC board members with Wisconsin’s Voice of Liberty, Ken Van Doren (center).

Michael S. Murphy, U.S. Senate candidate Dave Westlake, and Paul Sanchez.

Wisconsin RLC Vice Chair Chris Ciancimino.

Wisconsin RLC Chair with candidate for Congress Dan Sebring (District 4).

Wisconsin RLC Chair with candidate for Congress Terri McCormick (District 8).

Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson is running for State Senate in Wisconsin’s 31st district, a rural western Wisconsin district that is Democrat stomping grounds. Mr. Thompson was a Libertarian Party member from 1999 onward, and was the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor in 2002 (in which he gained 11.5%, a LP record), but decided to switch parties in 2009 after the state Republican Party smartly begged him to run as a Republican.

Wisconsin RLC Adviser Aaron Biterman, who worked on Ed Thompson’s 2002 campaign, praised the endorsement. “There isn’t anyone in Wisconsin who can wrestle District 31 away from the liberal Democratic machine, with the exception of Ed Thompson. He is a trans-partisan leader who is a true believer in the principles of our Founders and he brings a vision of a free society to the public consciousness,” said Biterman.

The Wisconsin chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus was founded in December, 2009. Thus far it has endorsed Terri McCormick for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th District, Rick Richard for State Senate in District 15, and Mr. Thompson. Said Michael S. Murphy, RLC Chairman, “We are proud to have Ed Thompson promoting our principles in western Wisconsin and look forward to hearing about his common sense vision when he crafts policy in the Wisconsin Senate.”

The Minnesota chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus has been busy, as usual.

Not only is Minnesota RLC member Norann Dillon running for State Senate, but many RLC members were among the first to rally behind State Rep. Tom Emmer, one of two potential Republican Gubernatorial nominees. Polls show Emmer defeating his Democrat opponents.

The upcoming Minnesota RLC events include:

1) A Second Congressional District Meeting for RLC and Campaign for Liberty members on Thursday, March 18. Among the plans at the meeting are to formalize RLC/C4L participation at the Jason Lewis Tax Rally on May 8 and the Minnesota GOP Convention on April 29. Additionally, the Second Congressional District GOP Convention will occur on Saturday, March 20. PLEASE RSVP to this event.

2) The Minnesota RLC Convention on Monday, April 12. PLEASE RSVP to this event.

3) Outreach at the Minnesota GOP Convention on April 29. Stay tuned for details.

The Michigan RLC recently held a successful Convention with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. The Nebraska RLC is holding its Convention with Governor Johnson in July. The Illinois RLC recently endorsed several candidates.

Additionally, the Wisconsin RLC and C4L chapters are planning to reach out at the state GOP Convention in late May. Meanwhile, Indiana and Ohio have primaries quickly approaching. The Indiana chapter is working to endorse candidates and Ohio RLC members are working to charter their chapter.

Activists in the Midwest are doing good work to keep liberty alive.

The Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to announce the latest candidates we’re recommending you support in 2010.  They include:

* Congressional candidates Brian Miller (AZ-08), Adam Kokesh (NM-03), Jaynee Germond (OR-04), and Terri McCormick (WI-08);

* Virginia State Senate candidate Steve Hunt (January special election); and

* State House candidates Jenn Coffey in NH (incumbent) and Paul Curtman in Missouri, as well as Missouri House incumbents Shane Schoeller, Tim Jones, and Jim Guest.

Learn more about these and other endorsed candidates at our 2010 endorsements page.