The November 1994 mid-term elections were commonly referred to as the "Republican Revolution." Given the great gains made by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, a group of moderate House Republicans began informal meetings to discuss ways to further a centrist, pragmatic Republican agenda -- one that could accommodate bipartisan legislative results. At that time, there was great concern that a dramatic shift to the right was quickly approaching, given the new congressional leadership. The discussion group began to craft a moderate Republican agenda with a fiscally conservative background.

What began as a congressional discussion group started by Reps. Nancy Johnson, Steve Gunderson and Fred Upton has evolved into a national gathering of leaders from government, business and education who share a commitment to conservative, pragmatic approaches to business in a global context; to compassion in our communities and character in our national leaders.

Many of the original participants are now leaders of Main Street. The Chairman of the Board is John "Jock" McKernan, a former member of Congress, and two-term Governor of Maine. An original founder of the Partnership is former Rep. Amo Houghton of New York, who is the only former corporate CEO of a Fortune 500 company to have served in the House of Representatives. The other members of the Board of Directors can be found here.

Addressing a broad spectrum of issues, the Partnership reaches out to disenfranchised Republicans-- people who are distressed by the stridency too-often associated with the Party, and to others attracted by a thoughtful, centrist approach to Republican politics. The Partnership demonstrates inclusion, respect, reason and compassion.