Below is a letter that Republican state Rep. Lewis Evangelidis, who is challenging Brad Jones for House minority leader, sent to Republican state committee members last Friday.

Evangelidis has secured the support of four members of the Republican caucus, not including himself. Jones has secured the support of seven members, also not including himself.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

LEW EVANGELIDIS

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

1ST DISTRICT OF WORCESTER                       
 
Dear XXXXX

As an active State Republican Committee member I wanted to reach out to you and let you know I am running for Minority Leader in the House of Representatives. I very much wanted to attend your state committee meeting last Monday to introduce myself, but I felt a commitment to first speak to the Republican caucus which was scheduled to meet Wednesday before I made any public statements.     

We all agree that the status quo for our party is no longer acceptable. Our party needs to be re-energized and I am committed to help elect more Republicans to the House. In my six years in the legislature I have seen our caucus drop from 24 to a now historic low of 16 members. As recently as 1996 we had 35 members in the House. I cannot see how we can bring a new message to the voters of Massachusetts with the same voices. I will be reaching out to you in the coming days and seeking your input on how we can craft a plan to turn things around. Below you will see my announcement of my candidacy. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Regan will back.

I would invite you to watch my appearance on New England Cable News last night talking about taxes and leadership. You can click on this link or copy it into your internet browser.  

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Business/2008/11/20/Newsnight-Gas-tax-vs-toll/1227231434.html

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Lew