Former Vice President Dick Cheney is putting his clout behind one of the challengers to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, CNN reports, and will co-host an upcoming fundraiser for former Bush administration official Maria Cino:
Cheney’s daughter Mary assisted in organizing the fundraising committee.
Cino served as a top Commerce Department official and Deputy Transportation Secretary under President Bush. She also worked at the RNC during Bush’s two terms and managed the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
The fundraiser will be held at the Virginia home of GOP strategist Mary Matalin and is hosted by several veterans of Bush-Cheney world, including former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, former New York Rep. Bill Paxon and former administration aides Melissa Bennett and Emily Lampkin.
Interestingly, Cino has not yet officially declared that she is running for chair — but she does have this 527 fundraising committee, and appears to be on the verge of making it official.
Several other candidates have already entered the RNC race or appear to be on the verge of doing so — including Gentry Collins, the former Republican National Committe political director; former Bush administration Ambassador to Luxembourg Ann Wagner; and former Michigan Republican Party chair Saul Anuzis.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.