Michael Steele Elected RNC’s First Black Chairman

Change has come to the GOP.

Former Maryland Lieutenant Gov. Michael Steele won the Republican National Committee chairman’s race, becoming the first African American to lead the party. He received a total of 91 votes in the sixth round of voting.

The cheers and applause were so loudly enthusiastic, that few people actually heard how many votes competitor Katon Dawson, the South Carolina party chairman who ended his membership in a whites-only country club before announcing his entry into the race, received in the end. He garnered 77 votes.

Steele’s initial reaction? “Awesome.” He said that in 2002, when he was a member of the national committee, like those who voted for him today, he never imagined this day would come.

“We’re going to take this party to every corner, every boardroom, neighborhood, and community. And we’re going to say to friend a foe alike that we want you to be a part of us, we want you to work with us. And for those of you who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over,” Steele said in his acceptance remarks. He also pledged to rebuild the party in every region of the nation, much like the 50-state strategy that helped bring the Democrats to victory in 2008.

“We can be very excited that our new chairman represents all that’s great about our party–the ability to succeed based on hard work and dedication. I believe that Chairman Steele will be able to talk to people across racial, income and geographic boundaries,” said RNC spokesman Sean Conner.

Mykel Harris, an African American who chairs the Republican Central Committee in Prince George’s County, Md., was ecstatic over Steele’s win and can’t believe he pulled it off.

“Steele is the guy to remove the dead wood, get us back on track and refocus us on where we ought to be,” who believes that the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King that blacks be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of skin is actually starting to be realized. Harris also suspects that not all Republicans may be on board with Chairman Steele at the moment, “But they’ll get behind him because that’s how the Republican Party works.”

Roll Call

In a surprising move, incumbent Chairman Mike Duncan withdrew from race. “Obviously the winds of change are blowing,” he said, before announcing his withdrawal. Thursday night, Chip Saltzman dropped out of the race.

After three rounds of ballots, Steele was giving Duncan a run for the money. Before Duncan bowed out, political strategist Jebb Young, said, “He’s going to take the money.”

In rounds one through three, Steele received 46. 48, and 51 votes, respectively. Duncan’s numbers moved downward, from 52 to 48 to

44. Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio secretary of state and the other black candidate in the chairman’s race, was following the same trend, with 20 votes in the first round and 15 in the third. Eighty-five votes were needed to win.

After the fourth ballot round and with still just 15 votes, Blackwell accepted the inevitable and withdrew from the chairman’s race. Interestingly, Blackwell threw his support behind Steele, even though they are viewed by many to be on opposite ends of the political spectrum. “We need a leader who can inspire hope, work with our policy leaders to create opportunity and have the leadership and the vision to first pull us together and then pull the nation together,” Blackwell said.

“Steele is personable, a great networker and can rebuild the party. We need someone out there who can help recruit new people and get them excited again,” said Harrison Clark, a black Republican who spent the past eight years working for the Bush administration. Young added that while all of the candidates have their strengths and the party would be comfortable with whoever wins, Steele has the broadest range of experience, having won and lost races, raised money, knocked on doors. “He’s solid across the board and we need change.”

Black Republican Elroy Sailor, who is president of JC Watts Cos., wasn’t totally surprised by Duncan’s withdrawal. He says that Duncan represents the Bush legacy. “The party recognizes that the country is moving in a new direction and if we’re to remain competitive, we have to move forward.” Sailor suspects that the votes Duncan got in the first few rounds will be split among the remaining four candidates based on whether committee members want to see the party continue its southern strategy or pursue a more holistic, broad-based route.