Republican Party of Guam
The Republican Party of Guam, commonly referred to as Guam GOP (abbreviation for Guam Grand Old Party), is a political party in Guam affiliated with the United States Republican Party.
Republican Party of Guam
Juan Carlos Benitez
Christopher M. Duenas
Frank Blas Jr.
1966
P.O. Box 2846, Hagåtña, Guam 96932[1]
In the 2022 general election, Republican Party candidates won 6 out of 15 seats in the Guam Legislature.
History[edit]
The Republican Party of Guam stems from the old Territorial Party of Guam, which existed from 1956 through 1968.[2] The Territorial Party was established in 1956 by discontented former Popular Party members,[3] including Frank D. Perez,[4] Pedro Leon Guerrero,[5] Edward T. Calvo,[4] Cynthia Torres,[6] B. J. Bordallo,[4] Vicente Reyes,[5] Felix Carbullido,[5] and Antonio Duenas.[5] The Territorial Party had only one successful election, in 1964, when it won a majority in the Guam Legislature with 13 thirteen of the 21 twenty-one seats.
This changed during the 1966 election, when the Territorials lost all twenty-one seats to the Democrats. The Territorials' demise came after they blocked a popular urban renewal plan, which was supported by the Democrats, as the Territorials backed private investment. The Territorial Party dissolved soon after.[2]
On November 21, 1966, a few weeks after the general election of that year, former Governor Joseph Flores, along with former Territorial senators Carlos Garcia Camacho, Kurt S. Moylan, and Vicente C. Reyes, officially formed the Republican Party of Guam.[2][5] Other Territorials soon became active, including Senators G. Ricardo Salas and Frank D. Perez. The new Republicans were careful not to portray their new party as a criticism of the Territorial Party, whose members they hoped to attract.
