The Massachusetts Republican Party, as its name implies, is the Massachusetts branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee, its current chairman is Darrell W. Crate. Its current Vice-Chair is Jeanne Kangas.
Early history (1956-1950)
The Republican Party in Massachusetts was the dominant party in the state for nearly seventy years from (1858 through the 1920s). Republican candidates routinely won the state governorship as well as most other state and Federal offices. The Republican dominance of Massachusetts slowly died in 1920's and 1930's as the predominantly Democratic Immigrant groups changed the traditionally Republican WASP Massachusetts into the Catholic Democratic majority state that it remains today. Additionally helping the Democratic take-over of Massachusetts, was high unionization of workers in the state, cuppled with the onset of the Great Depression and the rise of the New Deal Democrats. By the 1950's, most of the urban-suburban areas of Massachusetts were largely Democratic, leaving just a couple pockets of strongly Republican rural areas in Barnstable County, Massachusetts]], Nantucket County, Massachusetts, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and Franklin County, Massachusetts.
The Late 20th Century (1950-1990)
In the 1950's, the influential Kennedy Family worked its way into the reigns of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and helped guide the Democrats into multiple consecutive victories, much at the expense of The Republican Party. In 1952, JFK defeated Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. for the US Senate, ending the Republican Cabot-Lodge dynasty that had dominated Massachusetts politics since the Revolutionary War. JFK soon after would again lead the Democratic Party, becoming the successful 1960 Democratic Candidate for President, and in doing so delivering Massachusetts solidly to the Democrats on the Federal level until 1984. The fiscally Conservative, and largely Rockefeller Republicans of Massachusetts would slowly lose power in the next 24 years, losing their last Senate seat to Paul Tsongas in 1978, and five US House of Representatives seats in the period. On the state level, Democrats would take super-majorities in both houses of the State Legislature, and would dominate the Governorship for twenty-two out of a thirty-four year period from 1957 to 1990.
Current information
In 1984, the Republican Ronald Reagan for the first time since 1956, would win the Presidential Election in Massachusetts, ushering in what appeared to be a new hope for Republicans in the state. In 1990, due to the unpopularity of then Gov. Michael Dukakis at the end of his last term in office, Republicans were able under the leadership of William Weld to capture the Governor's office for the first time since 1973, and erase Democratic super-majorities in the State Legislature. However, the Republican Renaissance in Massachusetts largely folded in 1996 when the popularity of then President Bill Clinton derailed Republican efforts, costing them a chance at the US Senate seat of John Kerry, and most of their gains in the State Legislature, and both of their newly gained seats in the US House of Representatives. However, despite losses in all other significant races in the state, the Massachusetts Republican Party has been able to maintain control over the Governor's office. In fact, since 1990, the Governor's office has been consistently held by a number of Republicans, mostly recently including 2008 Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. In 2004, the party tried its chances to make gains in the State Legislature under the lead and popularity of Mitt Romney, however, instead the party ended up losing seats. The party was largely critized for being unorganized, and favoring candidates that were closer to the moderate leadership of the party.