Republican State Leadership Committee

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) is a political organization designed to assist Republicans in capturing and holding control of state legislatures across the United States. The organization notably raised over $140 million from 2004 to 2014, working across the country. The RSLC's Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).[1]

The organization has stated that it "is the largest caucus of Republican state leaders in the country and the only national organization whose mission is to elect down-ballot, state-level Republican officeholders" with efforts focused on "the offices of lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state legislator, the judiciary and other down-ticket races." The RSLC has also asserted that they have "more than 150,000 donors in all 50 states."[2]

The RSLC President position is currently held by Matt Walter. The RSLC has functioned since 2002,[2] while their rivals in the DLCC got started after the 1992 elections.

After Ed Gillespie was announced chairman in January 2010, the RSLC is reported to have laundered $1.5 million from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to Alabama Speaker Mike Hubbard and a group associated with Jack Abramoff.[3] From January 2010 to January 2014 the RSLC paid Gillespie $654,000.[3]

Political activist campaigns founded or co-founded by the RSLC include the "Judicial Fairness Initiative", the "Future Majority Project", and the "Right Women, Right Now" initiative.[2] As of the aftermath of the 2014 U.S. elections, the Republican Party controls 68 out of 98 partisan state legislative chambers in the country, with the RSLC a major part of the efforts to hold onto these chambers into the future.[1]

The RSLC is also the sponsoring organization of the .gop top-level Internet domain.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b Byler, David (November 11, 2014). "The Other GOP Wave: State Legislatures". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Lamb, Bingman Named To National Panels". The McCarville Report. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Burns, Alexander (August 4, 2014). "GOP group snared in money scheme". Politico. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (December 12, 2014). "Delegation Record for .GOP". Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  5. ^ Weathers, Cliff (July 9, 2014). "The 'Dot GOP' Domain Is the Newest — and a Very Funny — Internet Meme". Alternet. Retrieved September 14, 2015.