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.

In the 2024 general election, Republican Party candidates won 9 out of 15 seats in the Guam Legislature.

The Republican Party of Guam stems from the old Territorial Party of Guam, which existed from 1956 through 1968. The Territorial Party was established in 1956 by discontented former Popular Party members, including Frank D. Perez, Pedro Leon Guerrero, Edward T. Calvo, Cynthia Torres, B. J. Bordallo, Vicente Reyes, Felix Carbullido, and Antonio Duenas. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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. 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.^{[citation needed]}

At the young age of forty-four, Carlos Camacho succeeded Governor Manuel F.L. Guerrero as Governor of Guam, with Kurt Moylan appointed as lieutenant governor. Camacho's term as appointed governor lasted only eighteen months, due to the Elective Governor Act that was signed into law by the US Congress in 1968, allowing for Guam's citizens to choose their governor. The act took effect in 1970 when Guam's first election was held. Camacho's term was best remembered for his Christmas 1969 visit to the troops from Guam who were fighting in Vietnam.^{[citation needed]}

Camacho first selected senator G. Ricardo Salas as his running mate but later announced that Kurt Moylan would be the Republicans' candidate for lieutenant governor. The Democratic primary was a close race between former governor Manuel F. L. Guerrero, senator Ricardo Bordallo and attorney and former speaker Joaquin C. "Kin" Arriola. After a close primary and a contentious runoff election, Guerrero defeated Bordallo, and in the general election Camacho–Moylan defeated Bordallo–Taitano.^{[citation needed]}

Camacho and Moylan's historic inauguration was held on January 4, 1971, at the Plaza de España in Agana. He uses the resources of the government to enhance economic opportunities by granting incentives through the Guam Economics Development and offering various forms of assistance to the private sector. During his entire five and a half years in office, Camacho presided over one of the largest eras of hotel construction activities on Guam, with construction finishing or starting on the Kakue Hotel, Reef Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Okura Hotel, Fujita Tumon Beach, Continental Travelodge, and Guam Dai Ichi Hotel.^{[citation needed]}