The Kansas Traditional Republican Majority (KTRM) is a

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

founded in 2005 that supports more state government programs (especially education) and moderate social policies. It is connected to the

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a nonprofit organization that was founded to raise funds to support politicians in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. As of 2024, the organization seems to be leaning away from its original cent ...

. Becky Johnson chairs the group. KTRM's website states, "Our Republican Party must be a model that not only claims the mantle of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, and

Nancy Kassebaum Nancy Josephine Kassebaum Baker (; born July 29, 1932) is an American retired politician from Kansas who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 t ...

, but that is also willing to embody their values." KTRM is notable for opposing the conservative Republican members of the state school board who wanted to introduce the teaching of

Creationism Creationism is the faith, religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation, and is often Pseudoscience, pseudoscientific.#Gunn 2004, Gun ...

Intelligent Design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins".#Numbers 2006, Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for it ...

at various times in 2005 and 2006. One of the first newspapers articles about KTRM said their purpose was to disempower the far right. Charlotte Esau, a leading conservative from Kansas Republican Assembly, said, "Based on what I've seen so far, this is not a Republican group. It's a liberal front group for Democrats who want to pretend they are Republicans so they can hoodwink the voters into electing candidates who will talk Republican before the election and vote Democrat once in office." KTRM representing Kansas moderates says they attempt to move the Kansas Republican Party to the political center. Moderates object to being labeled as

RINO Rino may refer to: * Rino (given name) * Republican In Name Only, a pejorative term for U.S. Republicans considered to be insufficiently conservative * Rino, a singer-songwriter who performs under CooRie * RiNo, the River North Art District north ...

s. Conservatives say KTRM is attempting to move the Kansas Republican Party to the left and is a liberal group since KTRM has shared major donors with the Kansas Democratic Party. A political profile of KTRM members shows their help to Kansas Democrats, including Governor

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of health and human services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius was instrumenta ...

. KTRM has received much support from former Kansas

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and 1996

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Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

. KTRM has joined with moderate GOP groups such as the

and

Republicans for Environmental Protection ConservAmerica, formerly known as Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP), is a national nonprofit organization formed in 1995. REP's stated purpose is to strengthen Republican Party (United States)#Environmental policies, the Republican ...

. In the August 2012 Republican primary KTRM was a major recipient of funds from the leadership PAC
Senate Republican Leadership Committee PAC
controlled by moderate Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris.KS: Tracking the PACs – big money flowing into crucial Senate contests
''Kansas Watchdog'', Aug. 2, 2012. A former KTRM treasurer and executive director was a key player in other PACs receiving funds directly or indirectly from the Senate Republican Leadership PAC.

References

{{reflist Politics of Kansas Republican Party (United States) organizations Centrist political advocacy groups in the United States Organizations established in 2005