Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele toppled the Republican Party establishment today to become the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee, defeating South Carolina party chairman Katon Dawson on the sixth ballot.
Steele, a forceful convention speaker and frequent conservative commentator on cable television who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2006, will lead an organization that has only three black members out of 168 total.
In his remarks to RNC members after his victory, Steele vowed, "We're going to bring this party to every corner, every boardroom, every neighborhood and community [in the country]."
Steele's victory upset a contest that is normally the turf of party insiders. In 1993 and 1997, RNC members elected one of their own to lead the party over outsiders who were former elected officials and who had more stature nationally. That was expected to be the case again this year, especially after RNC members had seen the chairmanship during the previous eight years essentially dictated to them by President Bush and his political advisers.
Steele's victory signaled that many Republicans are restless with the status quo of their party. "Republicans are seeking a different path to victory," explained Shawn Steel, a national committeeman from California who backed Steele. And while party fortunes ebb and flow, Steel pointedly added: "Most of us don't want to wait."
The upset also suggested that the Internet may have helped amplify the input from the GOP grassroots eager to shake up the party hierarchy.
California committeeman Steel said that he received hundreds of e-mails from party activists in his state who weighed in on the chairman's race -- many of whom were for Steele -- and expected that their voices would be heard. "It used to be an insider's game, but you can't play that game any more," he said, pointedly adding that "some [RNC] members don't like that."
That sentiment was also reflected in various online surveys conducted by Republican-allied Web sites, including RebuildTheParty.com, an organization that lobbied the candidates for RNC chairman to pledge a greater emphasis on new media and technology if elected. "This is an insider's game, but one thing we sought to do was open up the process," said GOP operative Mindy Finn, one of the group's co-founders. "Mike Duncan always did worse, and Steele usually did the best."
Steele defeated four opponents in the race: Duncan, the incumbent chairman; two state party chairs, Dawson and Saul Anuzis of Michigan; and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
The first establishment casualty was Duncan, who had been tapped for the party post by the Bush White House and was seeking another term in his own right. "Obviously the winds of change are blowing at the RNC," said Duncan, when he addressed the committee before voting began on fourth ballot and withdrew from the race. "I understand what's going on." Duncan had led after the first round of balloting with 52 votes. His tally slipped to 48 on the second ballot, tied with Steele, and to 44 on the third ballot.
Right after Duncan's withdrawal; there was another sign of restlessness from the RNC meeting floor when longtime Ohio member Bob Bennett moved for a 15-minute recess. A cascade of "no"s greeted Bennett's motion. When the veteran pol amended that request to just five minutes and the question was put to a voice vote, Bennett was soundly defeated.
On the fourth ballot, Dawson surged to the lead with 62 votes, apparently picking up 28 votes from the Duncan ranks. Steele gained 9 votes to boost his total to 60 and Anuzis picked up 7 votes for a total of 31.
Before the fifth ballot began, Blackwell, who was stuck on 15 votes and trailing badly, addressed the committee members. "I cannot change the composition of this electorate," he said. "Nor would I want to." Blackwell then said: "We must be a party that makes good on the promise of Lincoln," and endorsed Steele as the candidate who could "inspire hope" and had "the leadership ability and vision to first pull us together [as a party] and then pull us as Americans together."
Although Blackwell is also an African American, many observers were surprised by his endorsement of Steele. Blackwell's candidacy had been endorsed by several influential national conservative figures, including James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
And while Steele ran for chairman as a conservative, he had been criticized by some RNC members for his past affiliation with the centrist Republican Leadership Council, which was also backed by GOP moderates such as former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. The RLC was set up to promote Republican candidates who supported conservative fiscal positions but took more moderate stands on social issues. Steele left the organization last spring, saying he opposed the group's decision to back candidates in GOP primaries.
After Blackwell's dramatic endorsement, Steele jumped back into the lead on the fifth ballot with 79 votes, to 69 for Dawson and only 20 for Anuzis, who lost 11 votes. At that point, the Michigan party chairman withdrew from the race but did not endorse a candidate.
On the climactic sixth ballot, Steele clinched with 91 votes to 77 for Dawson. Steele, who was born at Andrews Air Force Base in nearby Prince George's County, told the RNC members, "As a little boy growing up in the town, this is awesome."
In his remarks to the RNC members, Steele singled out for thanks the 15 members from the territories that include Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Marinas, and Guam. In an interview after the election was over, Anuzis said his vote counting had found that Steele had considerable support from the RNC members from those areas.
After Steele’s victory, the California committeeman Steel said his BlackBerry was “buzzing” with congratulations. Steel said he had been a little nervous after the second ballot, when Steele made only modest gains, jumping from 46 votes to 48. The Californian said that Blackwell’s endorsement was probably the critical factor. “It almost put the party at a crossroads,” said Steel, noting that Blackwell and Steele were the only two candidates who had won a statewide general election. “Either you were going to reach outside or keep it in-house as a private club, and the party took the right road."
While the Californian said he didn't think race played a role in the contest, other RNC members were not so sure, especially considering the perception problem surrounding the other finalist, Dawson, who until recently belonged to an all-white country club in South Carolina.
Said one RNC member who spoke on condition of anonymity, “At that point, I think the country club issue was in the back of a lot of peoples’ minds.”
"I suspect that had some impact, yes," said New Jersey RNC member David Norcross, a top vote-counter for South Carolina's Dawson.
Updated at 6:13 p.m. on Jan. 30.
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