Born in 1854 out of the passions of the abolitionist movement, the Republican Party has stood as the champion of individual liberty, the defender of civil rights, and as a safeguard against tyranny since its conception. It is the party of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Ronald Reagan. Republicans are proud of our party’s history, but we are even more excited for the future. With an eye towards compassion and commonsense, Republicans support policies that empower small business owners, allow children of every economic class a quality education through choice, and that provide economic opportunities to all Americans. The Republican Party believes the collective genius of the American people is limitless when freed from the unnecessary burdens of overbearing government regulations and destructive bureaucracies. We understand that the government has a responsibility to ensure that businesses play by fair rules, but we are also committed to promoting policies that create quality jobs across our state by unleashing the power and ingenuity of the free-market. We are committed to protecting your privacy from unwanted government intrusion, we believe the bedrock of a strong community is family values, and we will fight to ensure that the principle duty of any elected official is to ensure your human and Constitutional rights are protected. Rhode Island Republicans come from every walk of life. We are city dwellers and country farmers, fishermen and firefighters, and we are made up every race, religion, and age. We approach our state’s problems from a variety of perspectives and with an array of opinions, but no matter where we come from in life, we all share a common goal: to leave behind a better Rhode Island for our children than the one we inherited from previous generations.