Michael Steele

Matt Continetti on James Poulos's show: 

American political parties are loose associations that lack any kind of formal structures. The two parties stretch across three broad categories -- the electorate, the party organization in place to facilitate the campaign, and the government.  None of these parts of the party is formally connected to any other part, and even within each category there is not a great deal of coherence. Within the government, there is a party in the House and a party in the Senate, totally distinct from each other as well as from the state legislative caucuses.

The 168 RNC members have just cast their ballots in the first round of voting in the RNC election. Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus got 45 votes, Michael Steele 44, GOP operative Maria Cino 32, Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis 24, and former Missouri chairman Ann Wagner 23. That's pretty much what most observers thought would happen on the first round--but with a stronger showing for Cino than expected. The ballots are secret, and most observers expect balloting to go a number of rounds until one candidate receives a majority. 

In John McCormack's interview with Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee said: "Tell me what election we lost because I gave $15,000 to Guam."

No problem.

The picture is pretty bleak for Michael Steele--a majority of RNC members have pledged to vote for someone other than Steele. So is there any chance he would throw his support to another candidate if the balloting doesn't go his way? "No," Steele told THE WEEKLY STANDARD yesterday. "I'm running to win. Capitulation is not a part of my vocabulary." 

It's been apparent for some time that Michael Steele's chances of winning reelection were slim to none, but just in case there's any doubt, Politico's Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin report: 

The Republican National Committee will meet in January to choose a new chairman, and the reporters at Hotline's On Call blog have been keeping a running total of how many votes each candidate has been able to announce publicly.  Michael Steele has publicly secured 15 delegates (85 are needed for victory), and I found some of his declared supporters quite interesting:

Well, this should make the RNC race more interesting: 

Earlier today we noted a Fox News report that claimed Michael Steele will announce he is not running for a second term as RNC chairman, but Fox reports now that Steele is running. For those on the edge of their seats, we'll know for sure if Steele is or is not running following his 7:30 p.m. conference call.

It was reported over the weekend that Michael Steele, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), will not be seeking another term. This is not a huge surprise. Steele had long been criticized for his role as the chairman of the RNC, and already several alternative candidates had tossed their hats into the ring.

Politico's Jonathan Martin reports: 

Morton Blackwell, an RNC committeeman from Virginia and head of the conservative Leadership Institute, has thrown his support to Saul Anuzis in the race for the Republican National Committee chairmanship. Blackwell writes in a letter to fellow RNC members: 

Saul has excellent relationships across the country with social, economic and foreign policy conservatives.  He worked successfully with Tea Party activists in Michigan who became a vital part of the winning coalition.  He will build this same coalition nationally.  Saul will provide the essential leadership to run and manage the RNC and put together a winning team and game plan to facilitate our wins in 2012.