23: Primary Elections
Support competitive primaries. Other Information:
Friends and allied groups often promote individuals they deem as the best candidates in elections. However, the challenge
is that who is the best candidate is a highly subjective question. We've had successful and unsuccessful candidates with various
views on myriad issues. There is no magic formula or litmus test. It would be a mistake for any one organization to think
it can circumvent GOP voters and hand-pick our nominees. No one has a monopoly on knowing who is the best candidate; the electorate
ultimately makes the decision. We need to have a participatory nominating processes. Based upon our experiences in recent
elections, we understand and believe that voters, when given choices, will ultimately make better decisions than any outside
group, individual set of operatives or activists. Increased choice, robust conversation about issues, and strong voter engagement
is the appropriate path forward to allow voters to select the best candidate. Consequently, we believe that the Republican
Party should have a solid and persistent preference for primaries. In the past, abiding by this set of principles has led
to the emergence of outstanding candidates such as Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, and Senator Ron Johnson — all of
whom won the primary and the general elections, and have gone on to become thought leaders in elected office. We believe the
sign of a healthy party is one in which there are competitive primaries where candidates must work to earn voters' support
to become the party's nominee. However, winning primaries is not enough. We are in the business of winning general elections.
In order to affect public policy, the Republican Party must win general elections and not only primaries.
Objective(s):
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