Citizens for the Republic
Citizens for the Republic (CFTR) is an American political action committee founded in 1977 by Ronald Reagan, five months after he narrowly lost his bid for the 1976 Republican Party (GOP) presidential nomination to Gerald Ford The committee was first directed by Reagan aide Lyn Nofziger. Under American tax law, it is a 527 organization. Organizational history According to the CFTR website, "Reagan took the tired, run-down GOP [of the Ford-Nixon years] and turned it into a vibrant political force which drew sustenance from the millions of conservative Americans who believed in these principles." By the time Reagan unseated Jimmy Carter to become president in 1980, the group continued to be active throughout the 1980s, eventually becoming dormant following President Reagan's departure from office. The Executive Director was Curtis Mack, who became Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration following Reagan's re-election in 1984. Mack was succeeded by Wendy Borcherdt. In 2009, CFTR was revived by Craig Shirley, a political consultant who has written two best-selling books on the Reagan campaigns of 1976 and 1980. Shirley remains the chairman of Citizens for the Republic. CFTR describes itself as a