May 27, 2005 - Congress Daily

GOP Mods Rake In Cash At Main Street Fundraiser

On the heels of legislative victories for GOP moderates in the House and Senate this week, the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC held a fundraiser Wednesday that steered more than $230,000 to four House Republicans who could face competitive re-election challenges next year.      Sarah Chamberlain Resnick said the PAC, which supports GOP moderates, far exceeded its $80,000 goal. She said donors who attended the fundraiser wrote checks directly to Reps. Charles Dent and Jim Gerlach, both R-Pa., Joe Schwarz, R-Mich., and Rob Simmons, R-Conn.      She said the event borrowed the name of the Retain Our Majority Program founded by House Majority Leader DeLay that aims to financially shore up Republicans in tough races, but she added DeLay did not participate in the event.      Moderates featured prominently in headlines this week.      Senate moderates helped broker a deal that avoided triggering the "nuclear option" in the fight over approving judicial nomination.      House moderates were responsible for the passage of stem-cell legislation this week.      Resnick said the week's events did help fundraising for Main Street state chapters. She said it was harder to determine whether it boosted donations at the Wednesday event.      "It didn't hurt certainly," Resnick said. "It did help the energy. We're proud to be in this party."