Michael Steele has dropped out the race for Republican National Committee Chair. Photo Credit: Neon Tommy/Flickr.com/CC-BY-SA
Michael Steele, incumbent chairman of the Republican National Committee, has dropped out of the running for another term. The RNC is in the process of electing a new chairman, and Steele had been falling behind in the running. Steele said that he is stepping aside for others to lead.
Michael Steele drops out of Republican National Committee race
Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, has dropped out of the chairman election race, ending his bid for re-election. Steele was dropping behind as voting progressed and decided to call it quits, saying that the party was due for “something different,” according to CNN. The Republican National Committee has 168 members, and 85 votes are needed to win. Steele had started in second place in the first round of voting, but quickly fell behind in further rounds. After the fifth round of voting, Steele had fallen to a distant third and decided to pull the plug. He endorsed Maria Cino, the Deputy Secretary of Transportation under George W. Bush.
Steele leaves party in massive debt
The Republican party agenda has lately been one of fiscal conservatism, but the Republican National Committee has a large debt to settle, according to USA Today. The RNC took out a $15 million loan in 2010, and a $5 million payment is due in February. Steele has been taken to task for numerous slip ups, including allowing RNC funds to be spent at a strip club.
Steele successor not in good standing
Maria Cino, whom Steele had endorsed to succeed him, was not able to capture a victory. In the end, former Wisconsin GOP chair Reince Priebus was able to garner the necessary votes to win the post for the next two years. Saul Anuzis, former chair of the Michigan GOP was a distant second with Cino coming in third.
