Tag: Republican primary

CIV Endorses Brian Shortsleeve in Massachusetts Republican Governor Primary

Outline of Massachusetts with New England coastal scenery, illustrating Centrist Independent Voter’s 2026 endorsement of Brian Shortsleeve for governor.

Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Brian Shortsleeve in Massachusetts’s Republican primary for governor.

Shortsleeve is a conservative on fiscal matters but considerably more moderate than many Republicans on social issues. In a state as heavily Democratic as Massachusetts, we think that combination gives him a better chance to govern effectively and work with a legislature that will almost certainly remain controlled by Democrats.

Shortsleeve’s record in business and public administration, his fiscal seriousness and his willingness to depart from Republican orthodoxy make him the stronger choice in the primary.

We do not agree with Shortsleeve on every issue. The full endorsement discusses those differences as well as the reasons we believe they are outweighed by his experience, pragmatism and ability to govern across partisan lines.

Read our full endorsement of Brian Shortsleeve for Massachusetts governor.

See all of Centrist Independent Voter’s 2026 candidate endorsements.

Centrist Independent Voter Endorses Sam Mead for U.S. Senate

Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Sam Mead in Wyoming’s August 18 Republican primary for the United States Senate.

Mead is challenging Representative Harriet Hageman, who entered Congress after defeating Liz Cheney in 2022. There is a certain symmetry to the race: Cheney delivered her concession speech that year from the Mead family ranch.

But our endorsement is not about relitigating that election.

It is about whether Republican senators should exercise independent judgment or regard loyalty to Donald Trump as part of their job description.

Mead has said senators should judge presidential nominees on competence, character and ethics rather than partisan loyalty. He has defended Congress’s constitutional authority over war, criticized deficit spending, supported secure borders combined with legal immigration reform, and opposed wholesale disposal of Wyoming’s public lands.

We have reservations. Mead needs to provide much more detail on Ukraine, NATO, China and federal fiscal policy.

But he offers something increasingly scarce in Republican politics: a willingness to tell a president of his own party no.

Four years after Hageman defeated Cheney, Wyoming Republicans have an opportunity to send a different kind of conservative to Washington.

Read our full endorsement of Sam Mead.

See all Centrist Independent Voter 2026 endorsements.

Centrist Independent Voter Endorses Eric Barlow for Wyoming Governor

Wyoming landscape featuring mountains, open plains and ranch coun

Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Eric Barlow in Wyoming’s August 18 Republican primary for governor.

Barlow is a conservative Republican, and we disagree with him on important issues, particularly abortion. He supported Wyoming’s near-total abortion prohibition and its ban on medication abortion in 2023.

But primary elections require voters to choose among the candidates actually running. In this field, Barlow offers the strongest combination of governing experience, institutional temperament and practical conservatism.

A veterinarian, rancher, Marine veteran and former speaker of the Wyoming House, Barlow has emphasized health care, water, public lands, education, economic opportunity and the future of Wyoming’s smaller communities. His energy policy is notably pragmatic: he supports the state’s traditional industries while remaining open to nuclear power and other sources, arguing that growing electricity demand means “every electron matters.”

Barlow has also resisted the factional politics that increasingly dominate the Wyoming Republican Party. His principal opponent, state Superintendent Megan Degenfelder, has built much of her campaign around President Trump’s endorsement and alignment with his political movement.

We still have unanswered questions about Barlow’s views on the 2020 election, Trump’s efforts to overturn it and the proper limits of presidential power. Voters should continue looking for clear answers before casting their ballots.

On balance, however, Barlow offers Wyoming Republicans the better choice: experienced, serious and more interested in governing than ideological performance.

Read our full endorsement of Eric Barlow.

See all Centrist Independent Voter 2026 endorsements.

CIVPAC Endorses María Elvira Salazar in Florida’s 27th District

Stylized image of Florida accompanying CIVPAC’s endorsement of María Elvira Salazar in the 27th Congressional District.

Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Representative María Elvira Salazar in the August 18 Republican primary for Florida’s 27th Congressional District.

CIVPAC disagrees with Salazar on several important issues, including abortion, President Trump and parts of Republican economic policy. But her work on the bipartisan Dignity Act demonstrates a willingness to confront a difficult national problem with detailed, politically realistic legislation.

Working with Democratic Representative Veronica Escobar, Salazar has advanced an immigration proposal combining stronger border enforcement and employment verification with legal status for qualifying long-term undocumented residents. She has also defended that approach despite criticism from within her own party.

Her opponent, V. Michael Arias, presents a serious and generally reasonable agenda, but Salazar has the stronger demonstrated record of bipartisan legislating.

Read CIVPAC’s full endorsement of María Elvira Salazar.

See all CIVPAC endorsements in the 2026 elections.

CIVPAC Endorses Mark Sanford for the U.S. Senate

South Carolina scene featuring the State House, state outline, palmetto trees, crescent moon, waterfront and the words “South Carolina—The Palmetto State.”

CIVPAC has endorsed former Governor Mark Sanford in South Carolina’s August 11 special Republican primary for the United States Senate.

Sanford is not a conventional centrist, and CIVPAC has important disagreements with him—particularly on abortion. But he offers qualities that have become increasingly rare in the Republican Party: genuine concern about federal debt, support for competitive markets and free trade, respect for constitutional limits and demonstrated independence from Donald Trump.

Sanford opposed Trump’s tariffs, challenged the party’s growing reliance on presidential loyalty and lost his congressional seat after publicly criticizing Trump. His record gives us reason to believe that he would approach the Senate as a member of an independent branch of government rather than as an automatic vote for the president.

He has made serious personal and political mistakes. South Carolina voters have previously considered those failures and returned him to public office. We believe his experience, fiscal seriousness and political courage make him the strongest candidate in the Republican field.

Read CIVPAC’s full endorsement of Mark Sanford.

See this endorsement and our other current recommendations on the 2026 CIVPAC Candidate Endorsements page.