CANDIDATE VETTING

Vetting Information and Process 

Presenting Yourself and Candidacy for Vetting 

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**Applications for Commissioner Positions have closed as of 2/6/24**

  

Please use and submit the below form to officially request to have yourself and candidacy vetted by the Lewis County Republican Party.    
 

Vetting Process 

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The Vetting Committee will contact you and/or your campaign official, as designated in the "Request to be Vetted" message, if/when your request has been moved on to the interview process. Submission of a request does not guarantee an interview or an endorsement. No questions will be given in advance of this appointment. The Vetting Committee will submit recommendations to the Central Committee for a vote to endorse at the call of the Central Committee. The results of this vote will be announced after a full vote of the Central Committee. 

  

TIP!  Begin process EARLY because the Lewis County Republican Party vetting process is comprehensive and can take between 30-60 days before it is completed. 

  

  

  

Applicable Bylaws 

  

Section 4.3 – Endorsement of Candidates and Financial Contribution to Campaigns by the following procedure: 

  

A.  Candidate Endorsements: 

1. Candidates for partisan and nonpartisan office may be endorsed by the Central Committee in Primary or General elections. Endorsement of a candidate will be determined by a simple majority vote of the Central Committee members present at the called endorsement meeting. 

2. The results of the voting, including number of votes cast and the percentage received will be made public at the meeting, after all votes are tallied. 

  

B.  Vetting Committee: 

1. A Vetting Committee will be established for the purpose of recommending endorsement to the Central Committee the best candidates who support the LCRP platform for both partisan and nonpartisan public office. 

2. The Vetting Committee should consist of 6 members, 2 selected from each Commissioner District.  Applicant preference will be first given to PCO’s. 

3. The Chair will select the Vetting Committee members from the volunteers located in the 3 Commissioner Districts, and the Executive Board will approve the Chair's selection.   

4. If a vacancy appears in the Vetting Committee, the Chair will appoint, and the Executive Board will approve a replacement. 

5. Candidates for public office or their campaign members cannot serve on the Vetting Committee during that specific election cycle. 

6. The Central Committee will approve the standard Vetting Committee operating procedures as recommended by the Bylaws Committee. The Vetting Committee examination process instruments (Questionnaire, Interview, Scoring) will be approved by the Executive Board. The Vetting Committee will administer the approved process. 

7. The Parliamentarian will provide guidance to the Vetting Committee as it proceeds through the vetting process. 

  

C. Effect of Endorsement. 

1. Any endorsed candidate may use the endorsement as part of his or her campaign. Once an endorsement is given by the Central Committee, it cannot be withdrawn except by a 2/3rds majority vote of the Central Committee. 

  

D. Financing of Campaigns 

1. The Central Committee may, at its discretion, opt to spend money from the Central Committee Treasury to assist endorsed candidates with their campaigns.If the Central Committee opts to assist in the financing of an endorsed candidate’s campaign, the money will be provided to the candidate’s campaign within 48 hours after the meeting in which candidates are endorsed. 

1. In the event a Republican candidate is running unopposed in the general election, it will be the general policy of the Central Committee not to provide any financial contribution to that candidate.However, should special circumstances arise, then the Central Committee may waive this policy with a 2/3rds vote. 

1. The Central Committee will not provide financial support from the Central Committee Treasury for State Legislative races, for statewide races, or for Federal Office. 

  

ADDENDUM I 

VETTING COMMITTEE 

  

Operating Procedures and Code of Conduct 

  

     The purpose of this document is to give guidelines for the members of the LCRP Vetting Committee that are intended to remove any appearance of bias or impropriety in the vetting process including confidentiality. 

  

1.    Communicate only with the Vetting Committee members about details of the vetting process, scoring, and questions, for the purposes of a fair and judicious process. The Vetting Chair has communications responsibilities to all other instances, except for the reporting duties to the LCRP.  

2.    Wait to publicly identify with any candidate that has filed with the election office or with the PDC, until after the vote of endorsement by the LCRP.  All candidates will be notified prior to the public announcement of the Vetting Committee endorsement decision.  

3.    Wait to contribute financially to any candidate in the current election cycle, until after the vote of endorsement by the LCRP. 

4.    Only candidate vetting interview team members will address questions to the candidate during the vetting interview. 

5.    All candidates will receive the same questions. 

6.    The interview sessions will not be recorded. 

7.  All Vetting Committee members should do their best to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest throughout their involvement in the vetting process. 

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