Porter Elected Republican Club President

Robert R. Porter '02 was elected president of the Harvard Republican Club last night, as a record number of dues-paying members turned out to vote.

W. Lucien Smith '03 won the vice presidency, Brian C. Grech '03 won the position of treasurer and Laura E. Seaton '03 won the post of secretary.

One hundred seventy-five dues-paying members voted, as 29 candidates ran for the six available slots on the board--a large increase from the 11 bids at last year's election.

Other new board members elected include membership director Richard T. Halvorson '02 and member-at-large Seth N. Kisch '04.

"This is a testament to the fact that the Republican Club is alive and well on this campus, and that membership is invigorated," said former president Jason P. Brinton '01.

Brinton said the inclusive nature of the Republican platforms resulted in an across-the-board appeal to many individuals outside of as well as within the party. Many of the candidates appealed to a wider audience in their bid for office.

"The point made by many of the candidates is that there is no litmus test for our party," Brinton said. According to Brinton, increased competition in this year's election resulted in the election of better candidates.

"It shows that the candidates that came out on top were really excellent leaders and people that were ready to assume the mantle of leadership," he said.

In his newly elected position as president of the club, Porter said he hopes to increase the club's membership further and increase the club's political visibility. As former chair of the Bush campaign and membership director of the club, Porter was optimistic but not overly confident about the results of the election.

"I was hopeful," he said. "You never know what to expect, but I was excited about giving a speech, answering questions and really promoting the Republican spirit at Harvard and really thrilled about getting elected."

Both Porter and Smith are interested in expanding the influence of the club on campus, in spite of what Smith says he perceives as the stigma associated with being Republican on campus. Smith has plans to start an internship program for members in the future as well as to increase the membership of club and visibility, a goal parallel to Porter's.

"The thing that I most want to see is a growth in prominence and political activism on campus," Porter said. "I want to...lead the Republican intellectual movement here and all around the country."

-- Vinny Vacanti and Brendan J. Reed contributed to the reporting of this story.