Citizens for the Republic

Citizens for the Republic (CFTR) is an American political action committee founded in 1977 by Ronald W. Reagan, five months after he narrowly lost his bid for the 1976 Republican Party (GOP) presidential nomination to Gerald R. Ford, Jr. The committee was first directed by the Reagan aide Lyn Nofziger. Under American tax law, it is a 527 organization.

According to the CFTR website, "Reagan took the tired, run-down GOP [of the Ford-Nixon years] and turned it into a vibrant political force which drew sustenance from the millions of conservative Americans who believed in these principles."

By the time Reagan unseated Jimmy Carter to become president in 1980, the group continued to be active throughout the 1980s, eventually becoming dormant following President Reagan's departure from office. The Executive Director was Curtis Mack, who became Director of the National Oceanographics and Atmospheric Administration following Reagan's re-election in 1984. Mack was succeeded by Wendy Borcherdt.

In 2009, it was revived by Craig Shirley, a political consultant who has written two best-selling books on the Reagan campaigns of 1976 and 1980. Shirley remains the chairman of Citizens of the Republic. CFTR describes itself as a "national organization dedicated to revitalizing the conservative movement [through] education, grassroots organization, advocacy, and political activism ... [to promote] the principles of limited government, maximum freedom, personal responsibility, peace through strength, and defense of the dignity of every individual.

...
Wikipedia