Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Wisconsin GOP and the latest entrant into the crowded field of Republicans seeking to replace Michael Steele as chair of the Republican National Committee, just snagged a big name endorsement, CNN’s Peter Hamby reports. Henry Barbour, RNC member from Mississippi and nephew of the state’s governor, sent an email to the 168 voting members of the committee praising Priebus’ tenure as RNC general counsel, a job he resigned this weekend.
“Let’s face it, that was a tough job and he did as well as reasonably can be expected,” Barbour wrote of Priebus. “He was always fair-minded, candid and inclusive with members. I also believe Reince was one of the few people in the inner circle who talked straight with Chairman Steele when he disagreed with him.”
Priebus was a key Steele ally when he won back in 2009 and became an integral part of Steele’s RNC leadership. But after two years of high profile Steele missteps, Priebus chose to leave the RNC and run for chair himself.
Barbour, who supported former South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson when he ran against Steele, is reportedly “a close confidante” of his uncle Haley, and was among those who urged Priebus to get into the race.
Steele has not said if he’s running for chair again, and most think he’s lost much of the support he enjoyed in 2009. Many Republicans have jumped into the race, and a frontrunner has yet to emerge.
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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