USA: Republicans Elect First African American Party Chairman

The American Republican Party on Friday elected former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele as its chairman, making him the first African American to lead the National Republican Committee (RNC).

Steele was the most moderate of the candidates and was considered an ‘outsider’ as he was not a member of the RNC. After dramatic six rounds of voting, he defeated four candidates, including the incumbent chairman Mike Duncan, who withdrew after the second round of voting due to lack of support. Steele ultimately received 91 votes out of a possible 168, needing 85 for a simple majority.

Steele will take over the leadership of the National Republican Committee at a time when the party is recovering from a heavy defeat in the November 2008 elections, where it lost the White House and several seats in the House of Representatives and Senate, where Democrats secured a convincing majority.

In a brief speech accepting his election as chairman, Steele announced efforts to expand the party’s voter base. At the National Convention in September 2008 in St. Paul, Republicans were criticized as an almost exclusively white party, losing touch with demographic changes in America.

"We will say the same to friends and enemies: we want you to be part of us, we want you to be with us, and to those who want to obstruct, prepare to be crushed," Steele said. "It is time for something completely different and we will offer that to them (the voters). This is our opportunity, but I cannot do it alone," he added. The new RNC chairman will have the task of renewing a party facing significant organizational, financial, and communication challenges.

Additionally, Steele was born at Andrews military base and is the former brother-in-law of the rabid boxer Michael Tyson, and you can read a detailed biography of Steele on his dedicated Wikipedia page. (H, I. Š.)