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RNC's Steele being urged to exit gracefully

Faces four rivals for chairman

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Some supporters of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele are privately urging him to consider a graceful exit strategy as RNC members prepare for Friday's showdown vote on who will lead the party for the next two years.

Mr. Steele, who has vowed to fight to the bitter end in the fierce five-way contest, has some 28 votes publicly committed to him among the 168-member RNC — compared with the 41 votes claimed by Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, the presumed front-runner.

The two men are locked in a battle with three other Republicans for the right to head the GOP's top fundraising and candidate-assistance body through the next year's presidential election. The RNC will play a key role in the campaign as the party organ legally permitted to raise money for get-out-the-vote drives at the state level.

It is widely believed among RNC members that Mr. Steele actually has as many as 20 more supporters on the committee who will at least give him their first-ballot votes — bringing his total to about 50, still some 35 votes short of the 85 needed to win.

But incumbents tend to fare poorly if they don't win right out of the chute.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele is being urged to step aside after the first balloting Friday and save face. He is in a five-way contest in his fight to remain chairman for another two years. (Associated Press)Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele is being urged to step aside after the first balloting Friday and save face. He is in a five-way contest in his fight to remain chairman for another two years. (Associated Press)

Kentucky RNC member Mike Duncan, for example, led Mr. Steele 52-46 on the first ballot in Mr. Duncan's bid to hold onto his RNC chairmanship in January 2009. But he dropped to a 48-48 tie with Mr. Steele on the second ballot and trailed him by 44-51 on the third ballot. Mr. Duncan then dropped out of the five-way race, which Mr. Steele won on the sixth ballot.

With Mr. Steele facing public opposition from some of the party's top figures, some Steele supporters are privately urging him to get out after amassing a face-saving vote total in the first round.

This strategy would entail the Steele campaign team recruiting the votes of enough uncommitted RNC members to at least match Mr. Duncan's level of 56 votes on the first ballot.

The quid pro quo would be a private Steele pledge to drop out after the first ballot, exiting with dignity rather than staying the course, only to watch his support erode. The prospect of ebbing support would also deprive Mr. Steele of the ability to be a kingmaker by throwing a big chunk of his voters to a favored rival at an opportune time later in the voting.

Most committee members think Mr. Steele's hard-core support will migrate primarily to Michigan RNC member Saul Anuzis, favored by most conservatives on the committee. But Steele campaign manager Holly Hughes, a Michigan RNC member, opposes any deal with Mr. Anuzis, her longtime political enemy in Michigan.

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About the Author
Ralph Z. Hallow

Ralph Z. Hallow

Chief political writer Ralph Z. Hallow attended the University of Pittsburgh law school and completed a doctoral program in history at Pitt and graduate work at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and as a Ford Foundation fellow in urban journalism at Northwestern University. He was night city editor at the Pittsburgh Press, editorial writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ...

Comments

erehwonassoc says:

1 day, 5 hours ago

Mark as offensive

@New User 74654, I agree for the most part. I got the same loaded poll wording from Steele, Sessions and Conyers. I told all of them to go pound sand, then sent my checks to JD Hayworth for Senator in his failed attempt to replace Juan McShamnesty, and Mr Kelly, an Iraq war veteran in Arizona's 8th District in his bid to unseat Gabrielle Giffords. The only decent political stuff I got was by email, AFP, Haley Barbour's group, Freedom Works and the Heritage Foundation. However; Freedom works didn't get a penny, because I believe Dick Armey is just about as sleazy as they come, and Heritage Foundation lost out because they are trying to make a 'separate peace' with Obama and his regime. If you can write out a check, it's just as easy to write it out to an actual person you wish to elect, as to some organization of professional 'rent-seekers' no matter how much they aver their conservative roots. I would also point out that the RNC, the SRC and the RCC are all enamoured of RINOS. Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy are not at all interested in listening to their constituents, as can be seen by the lack of meaningful appointments to the leadership from the TEA party and other conservative groups.

New User 74654 says:

1 day, 9 hours ago

Mark as offensive

Rebublicans and Democrats still don't get it....I won't support either party and I won't support a third party (remember Ross Periot )
I donated for the first time in my life to people whom I believed had honor, believed that they are responsible for what they say and do, and basically were Americans not political persons.
I am free to choose whom I will support....here in Nevada the Republicans did the Republican thing we will only support those people with a name and support so they can win. In other words WINNING is the only thing. People with names and support have already been bought and paid for which means they don't represent Americans, they represent those that have bought and paid for them and instead of coming to Washington to work begin immediatly to concentrate on running for another term?
I hate the politicians demeaning each other with ads, which is another reason why I won't give to the parties then be sickened by their wicked, mean ads that have nothing to do with the problems we face. I did give to ads that I was allowed to see before hand that were about issues.
And someone else spoke of the endless surveys for the polls all asking the same questions which set us up to say we agree with their agenda. So they can do the political thing and say to the other side na, na, na, na, NA, NA!

aw says:

1 day, 12 hours ago

Mark as offensive

Steele just needs to go. No more useless surveys. I must have gotten at least 15 of them, all with the same stupid questions. Get a clue Mike, the $$ are down because of you.

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