Breaking: RNC Elects First Black Republican Party Chairman

by Karen Hatter | January 30, 2009 at 10:28 am

587 views | 59 Recommendations | 22 comments

Today, January 30, 2009, during the 2009 Republican National Committee's (RNC) annual winter meeting, being held in Washington, D.C., from January 28 through January 31, 2009, the RNC is voting to elect a new chairman for the Republican Party.

168 members and proxies are eligible to vote during this election. 85 votes are required to represent a majority.

The candidates for Republican Party Chairman are: Mike Duncan, Ken Blackwell, Katon Dawson, Michael Steele and Saul Anuzis.

After the first ballot count, shortly after 12 noon, current Republican chairman Mike Duncan had received 52 votes, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, 46 votes, Katon Dawson, chairman of South Carolina's Republican Party received 28 votes, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, Saul Anizis, received 22 votes and Ken Blackwell, former Secretary of State of Ohio, 20 votes.

Second ballot results, shortly before 1:00 PM:

Mike Duncan 48

Michael Steele 48

Katon Dawson 29

Saul Anuzis 24

Ken Blackwell 19

The balloting process will continue until a majorty vote is achieved.

A sixth candidate, Chip Salzman, former campaign chairman for Mike Huckabee, withdrew from the ballot on January 29, 2009.

Mr. Salzman made news in December 2008 for distributing copies of what has been identified as a parody CD, We Hate the USA, that contained, among other titles, Barack the Magic Negro, to RNC members as he sought their support for his election as party chairman.

This action was denounced by current Republican Party chairman and candidate Mike Duncan, who issued a statement regarding the incident. Candidate Ken Blackwell has been the only candidate for Republican party chairman to defend Chip Salzman's actions.

UPDATE:

Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele elected with 91 votes shortly after 4:00 PM. He served as Lt. Gov. from 2003 to 2007.

In 2000, he became the first Black to serve as Republican chairman, of a state party, in Maryland.

He was known to be a staunch supporter of former President George W. Bush during his administration and the former president's policies regarding the war in Iraq.

Also at NowPublic:

A Reality Check for the Republican Party

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

Karen Hatter

flagged this story as Breaking

at 13:17 on January 30th, 2009

Karen Hatter, thanks for getting this story out so quickly. It will now show up on the home page for four hours. If new developments justify it, I'll renew this flag for another cycle.

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Amy Judd

at 13:24 on January 30th, 2009

Thanks for this.

158

at 13:29 on January 30th, 2009

Mr. Steele is a good man and good politician. Few people are both.

I wish him well and expect him to do a good job.

eastvanray

at 15:46 on January 30th, 2009

May I assume then that you too were a big fan of George W. Bush and his policies in Iraq?

Pythiian1

at 13:52 on January 30th, 2009

Good for Mr. Steele and in light of the majority of the RNC population, it's certainly breaking news and quite historic. He'll need to do quite a bit of work to transform the party.

Thanks Karen for the news. CNN has just flashed this news.

politisite

at 13:53 on January 30th, 2009

Maybe the GOP will remember that WE are the party of Lincoln. I supported Steele for RNC chair. Glad to see that he was elected today. Let me say this to the Daily Kos and Huffington post RIGHT now, it is not because of the color of his skin, it is because he is the best Man for the job and already has a national presence that is good for the party. There were two excellent Black men running. Congrats to Mr. Blackwell as well for stepping out and taking a chance. It is sad to hear the uncle tom comments already ringing out. I was intimatly aware of the process and there was opposition for each of the candidates. Chaiman Steele is the best man for the job. I endorced him over South Carolina Katon Dawson (some are upset with me) but This is a happy day.

When I was the Public relations Chairman if the Columbia County Republican Party in Georgia my Chairman was Black (Alvin Starks). The GOP has been changing back to its civil rights principles for the last 13 years.

Many of us were very upset with Chips CD that he sent us that had a condescending song about Obama. Obama is my President and the song was poor judgment. He withdrew last night.

Karen thank you for your story.

politisite

at 13:57 on January 30th, 2009

Karen,

I want to empahasis how well your article was written. No surprising, but you should get Kudos for a story that really was on the bottom of most MSM list. I am seeing flashes and staements on the news now. If you don't mind I will put the first 500-700 words on my blogs and direct back here. I will also put it on my twitter (think I have almost 600 followers) Great job. I hope NP puts it out on their twitter as well.

Karen Hatter

at 14:29 on January 30th, 2009

You're welcome, Al and thank you for your plans to include a link at your blog.

I can't imagine why this wouldn't be news, considering the hoopla that occurred during the Salzman incident.

But, as we all know, race, as an ongoing issue with which America continues to struggle on a daily basis, it nonetheless often gets in the way of other things that should be scrutinized.

Now Republican Chairman-elect Michael Steele is the first African American ever elected to the position. What does that really mean?

For starters, it means he embraces the ideals or core principles of the Republican Party. However, he was a firm supporter of former President Bush and supported the war in Iraq.

It also would seem to indicate an attempt by the Republican Party to gain some lost voter perceptual ground with the recent unfortunate non-inclusive displays exhibited during the 2008 election McCain-Palin campaign, an attempt to visibly demonstrate diversity, which the Republican Party, at present given its membership, does not reflect.

It's a gamble and mistake if the Republican Party thinks that by electing an African American chairman of the party, much like the Governor Sarah Palin ploy, adding a woman to the Republican ticket to help attract disenfranchised Hillary Clinton supporters, with those disenchanted voters actually being courted by that campaign and with Chairman-elect Steele, being an individual who, given his record and adherence to conservative values, that by his election alone the party will appear to have addressed and transformed what is askew within the Republican Party.

politisite

at 14:35 on January 30th, 2009

Karen,

The Chip CD incident did make the news and spread like wild fire. The CD was condemned by the Left and Right Alike as it should have been. I was speaking more about the wider story about the RNC chairman elections.

politisite

at 14:47 on January 30th, 2009

May I say that any advantage by electing a black man to the RNC chair position to regain the black vote was not in the dialogue presented by anyone I know. Michael Steele was simply the best man for the job based on his merits. Like I stated, the blogs will be ablaze making assumptions that the Steele pick was to gain a better share of the 95% of Blacks who voted for Obama is totally with out merit. As one who supported Steele, my descsion to support him was more about his speaking abilities, his name reconition, and his ostitions on the issues. To be homes, the color of his skin, only shows that the upper levels of the GOP is color blind. Ideology rules the day. Yes, he does support SOME of Bush's policies, but not all of them. His views on fiscal responcibility far out reaches Bushes choices to spend money without regard to conservative principles. To paint Chairman steel with a Bush Brush shows that tehre are attempts to negate him as an individual. Let us not pre-judge Chairman Steele prior to seeing what actions he is about to take in the Party. His platform is widely available and does not mirror exactly George Bush. In fact, if folks will give his work a read, one will see that he has some moderate viewpoints that would make even the left in agreement.

If Liberals vote for a Black man for office, it is regarded as part of the huge umbrella of inclusion. The doible standard is, if the right does it, the view is there must be some hidden adgenda to pull peole of color away from the Democrat part or some other diabolical plan.

In Chairmans Steeles case, maybe it is simply because he IS the best MAN for the Job.

Karen Hatter

at 15:55 on January 30th, 2009

Al, by no means, was I expressing any idea that the Republican Party was somehow attempting to " .... regain the Black vote....".

The Republican Party has not enjoyed majority support from the African American community SINCE the time of Lincoln nor do I see that occurring any time soon!

My statement of being non-inclusive was meant to include any and all other so called minorities, not only African Americans, sexual and whatever other individuals considered a minority that were not attracted to and were displeased with the Republican Party's handling of things and its methods employed during the 2008 McCain-Palin campaign.

Nor did I call Mr. Steele a Bush clone in terms of his Republican positions.

Whether he is the best man for the job or not, as head of the Republican Party, he's got his work cut out for him.

politisite

at 11:32 on January 31st, 2009

Your statement that the Republican party has not had black support since the time of Lincoln is simply incorrect. The Late Martin Luther King Jr. and many other Civil Rights champions were Republicans. The reason? Revisionist history likes to say that civil rights was all a democrat idea. Not accurate at all. I have listed other champion civil rights leaders in another story on NP. It was Republicans who fought to end the filibuster in the senate for the civil rights bill. Keep in mind it was 79% of Republicans and 63% of democrats who voted for the voting Rights act. Albert Gore sr. and Robert Byrd both fought to filibuster for over 14 house. The same could be said for the civil rights act of 1964 where only 7 Republicans and 21 democrats fought against.

Republicans have been there for blacks many time throughout history 3 times in the house trying to get poll taxes removed.

Why was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a Republican? Because the GOP was the Only party he could count on for civil rights

Folks should also give Famous Black Republicans a read

Karen Hatter

at 19:51 on January 31st, 2009

Al, either you misread or misunderstood my previous statement.

I didn't write anything about civil rights in my statement.

In my statement, re: African American's non-support of the Republican Party " ....since the time of Lincoln... ", the word 'support' was preceded by the word 'majority', as borne out by the history of African American voting trends.

After the political gains made by Black people, that occurred during the period known as Reconstruction, were crushed after the Compromise of 1877, when the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was allowed to take the office of the presidency, with a deal that was struck among Republicans AND Democrats, with Hayes and the Republican Party agreeing to remove federal troops that were enforcing the laws meant to transform the South and to protect the newly freed, former enslaved of this nation, both parties have been complicit in the discriminatory practices used against Black people in the U.S.

In modern times, during the so called Civil Rights Movement, both parties have aided in what began as a struggle for social justice, eventually transformed into a struggle for civil rights.

However, worthy of note, in June of 2005, when the United States Senate passed Resolution 39, a resolution sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican, apologizing for the Senate's inaction in passing anti-lynching legislation during the years resolutions had been submitted to the Senate, beginning in 1900, 20 senators refused to sign the resolution, 19 Republicans, 1 Democrat, with the majority of lynch victims being men, women and children of African descent.

Senate Resolution 39 reads in part:

Whereas the crime of lynching succeeded slavery as the ulti-mate expression of racism in the United States following Reconstruction;

Whereas lynching was a widely acknowledged practice in the United States until the middle of the 20th century;

Whereas lynching was a crime that occurred throughout the United States, with documented incidents in all but 4 States;

Whereas at least 4,742 people, predominantly African-Americans, were reported lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968;

Whereas 99 percent of all perpetrators of lynching escaped from punishment by State or local officials;

Most notably among those refusing to sign this resolution in 2005, then Senator Trent Lott, representing the state with the bloody distinction of having the most lynchings occurring within its borders, Mississippi.

politisite

at 20:12 on January 31st, 2009

Chairman Steele was not elected for window dressing or to send messages or to try to undo past problems. That was the general subject of my comments. Chairman Steele was elected solely for his qualification for the job. There is no hidden agenda what so ever. I supported Chairman Steele based on his qualifications. I will say, I do like the idea that people of color can rise to top positions in both parties. It is an example that people are putting color behind them and focus on ones content of character.

Karen Hatter

at 00:33 on February 1st, 2009

My first comment here at the thread, in different words, stated that electing Chairman Steele, as stated above, " .... for window dressing or to send messages or to try to undo past problems.", would not aid the Republican Party, if those things were the reason for his selection.

Time will reveal what his leadership can accomplish.