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01/10/25 - CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios is considering attending a key meeting of the local Republican Party on January 16, 2025. The gathering will focus on discussing his status within the party, after a recent letter of concern from CNMI Republican Party president Ramon Tebuteb about Palacios rejoining the party at the national level.
"Let’s all chill out and get along and rebuild whatever is the remnants of the Republican Party today, otherwise, it is going to be the same thing that’s going to happen again where the party can only field five candidates in the past midterm election," Palacios said in response to Tebuteb’s letter to the Republican National Committee.
The controversy stems from Palacios’ decision to rejoin the RNC after he left the party two years ago to run as an independent candidate. Palacios campaigned against the Republican candidates in the last general election and signed a Unity Pledge with Democrats in the runoff election. Tebuteb’s January 3 letter to the RNC expressed deep frustration over the governor’s return to the national party, accusing him of undermining Republican interests in the CNMI. Tebuteb argued that Palacios’ past actions do not align with the party’s core values.
The local Republican leadership is upset that the RNC did not consult them before announcing Palacios’ re-affiliation. The local party will meet on January 16, 2025, in Saipan to determine whether Palacios should be permitted to rejoin the local party.
For more on the governor’s full response, watch his comments to Marianas Press following a Marianas Business Network event on Thursday.
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Story by Thomas Manglona II
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