“I am going to send out a letter to all our leaderships, asking them to rally behind our [congressional] candidate [Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio],” the GOP president told reporters on Friday after Tenorio officially filed his candidacy.
On Thursday, former Rep. Gregorio Camacho “Kilili” Sablan, who remains on leave as Commonwealth Election Commission executive director, also filed his petition as a candidate.
His supporters include House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, R-Saipan, who described Sablan as the best person to represent the CNMI in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Camacho distributed “Republicans for Kilili” stickers.
Two other Republicans, Reps. Ray N. Yumul and attorney Victorino DLG. Torres, were also interested in running for delegate, but the two gave way to Pete A. Tenorio, who has been the CNMI’s Washington representative for over six years now.
Ed Tenorio said the party is grateful for the “sacrifices” of Yumul and Torres, and hopes that other members will support the Washington representative to ensure a GOP victory in November.
“The GOP is the most organized [political] party here,” he added. “We are a member of the [Republican National Committee], a very important organization. We have party friends in the states and in the National Republican Party.”
The Washington Representative, on the other hand, said “sometimes blood is ticker than water” especially on a small island.
“The election here in the commonwealth is kind of funny,” he said. “People here don’t vote straight down the party line, unlike before. We are very diversified now. We have relatives on all sides of the equation during an election.”
He added, “I am bothered by those who have pledged to be loyal Republicans [but are not supporting the GOP’s candidate] but I can understand where they are coming from. Sometimes, party affiliations mean less than friendship or family.”
He expressed hope that Republicans realize that they are supposed to “promote the agenda of a party.”
“I want to encourage those who go and support their relatives to really think about what it means to be a party [member],” he said.
