Senate '12

Poll: As Michigan's GOP Gov. Loses Support, Dem Senator Rises

Jon Terbush | March 23, 2011, 4:38PM

Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

In December, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) looked shaky heading into her 2012 reelection bid. One poll found her barely leading a slate of potential Republican challengers. But now, Stabenow's poll numbers have rebounded: a new PPP poll shows her leading her potential rivals by double-digits.

That turnaround comes at the same time that Michigan's new Republican Governor, Rick Snyder, has seen his approval rating slide, after his push for a controversial proposal that would give him the authority to appoint emergency managers in struggling cities, a proposal one supporter likened to "financial martial law."

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Michael Steele

RNC Chairman's Race, Round Five Goes To Priebus

Brian Beutler | January 14, 2011, 4:16PM

Reince Priebus and Michael Steele

After ballot five, some real movement.

The overall tally, in descending order:

Priebus: 67
Cino: 40
Wagner: 28
Anuzis: 32
Anonymous, Ineligible Write-In: 1

Steele's bid to throw support to Maria Cino doesn't seem to have worked out exactly as he planned. Instead it appears that under half of his supporters broke for Cino, the rest for Priebus. Now Priebus is really closing in on the magic number, 85. It's a question of whether Wagner and Anuzis supporters accept him as Steele's successor, or decide to play queenmaker for Cino.

Michael Steele

RNC Chairman's Race, Round Four Goes To Priebus

Brian Beutler | January 14, 2011, 3:41PM

Michael Steele

The fourth ballot has been counted in the RNC Chairman's race, and we're still stuck, with Priebus enjoying a modest, but by no means overwhelming lead.

The overall tally, in descending order:

Priebus: 58
Cino: 29
Steele: 28
Wagner: 28
Anuzis: 24
Anonymous Write-In: 1

Priebus enjoys a small, four vote gain. If somebody doesn't drop out soon and endorse him, we're in for a long night. Speculation is that Steele will throw his support to Wagner, which would put her in a dead heat with Priebus. Stay tuned.

Michael Steele

RNC Chairman's Race, Round Three Goes To Priebus

Brian Beutler | January 14, 2011, 3:05PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The third ballot has been cast in the RNC Chairman's race, and the winner, again, is Reince Priebus, with 54 votes.

The overall tally, in descending order:

Priebus: 54
Steele: 33
Wagner: 32
Cino: 28
Anuzis: 21

Strange results. Cino's lost all momentum, and Wagner's slowly climbing, but Priebus isn't building on his lead.

Michael Steele

RNC Chairman's Race, Round Two Goes To Priebus

Brian Beutler | January 14, 2011, 2:26PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The second ballot has been cast in the RNC Chairman's race, and the winner, again, is Reince Priebus, with 52 votes.

The overall tally, in descending order:

Priebus: 52
Steele: 37
Cino: 30
Wagner: 27
Anuzis: 22

Maria Cino underperformed compared to round one, which will fuel speculation that Priebus parked some votes with her to set her up as his mano-a-mano opponent. This is just one of many unsourced lines of speculation floating around the convention center, bu it's got plenty of traction. Steele, predictably, is sinking quickly -- he lost seven votes between the first and second rounds.

Michael Steele

The Results Are Anyone's Guess As RNC Chair Election Kicks Off

Brian Beutler | January 14, 2011, 12:38PM

Reince Priebus and Michael Steele

The RNC chairman's election will commence momentarily, and members are expected to pick a replacement for Michael Steele. But the arcane rules of the committee's election process allow Steele to remain in contention as long as he wants.

Here's the intelligence we have so far.

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RNC

Will Reince Priebus Surge To The RNC Chairmanship?

Eric Kleefeld | January 13, 2011, 10:38AM

Reince Priebus and Michael Steele

The Republican National Committee is set to meet Friday to elect its chairman -- and from the looks of things, incumbent RNC Chair Michael Steele's history of gaffes, combined with the party's recent financial problems, will doom him at the vote. But can Wisconsin GOP Chair Reince Priebus, the frontrunner headed into the vote, seal things up?

In the latest count from National Journal, Priebus has 40 committed votes, Steele 17 -- a truly awful place for an incumbent to be -- former Missouri GOP chair Ann Wagner 15, former Michigan GOP chair Saul Anuzis 14, and former Deputy RNC chair Maria Cino 12.

This is not to say that Priebus has it locked up -- far from it, when one takes into account that the single largest group are the 70 committee members who have not publicly declared a choice. As a percentage, then, Priebus is at 24%, Steele at only 10%, Wagner 9%, Anuzis 8%, and Cino 7%, with "uncommitted" in the lead at 42%.

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RNC

As Nation Shifts Toward Gay Rights, RNC Candidates Promise To Stay Put

Evan McMorris-Santoro | January 4, 2011, 8:07AM

Reince Priebus and Michael Steele

The past year saw great strides forward for supporters of gay rights, culminating in the repeal in December of the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian service members. Polls continue to show the American public is warming to gay rights, from overwhelmingly supporting the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell to rising support for legalized gay marriage at the federal level.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: It's Over: Senate Repeals Don't Ask, Don't Tell]

It seems increasingly clear that embracing some changes in the way gays and lesbians interact with society will be necessary for political viability in the future. That is, unless you're running to be the next chair of the Republican National Committee. At their debate yesterday, the major candidates running to lead the RNC through the 2012 presidential race pledged to hold the line on gay rights, expressing concern over the repeal of DADT and vowing to keep the Republican Party in the sanctity of marriage business.

Though Republicans may be less willing overall to embrace gay rights than other groups, the party by no means speaks with one voice on the topic. The DADT repeal vote in the Congress carried a few Republican votes with it, and a handful of well-known Republicans have expressed their support for gay marriage as well.

But that's not how the candidates for RNC chair see it. At the debate yesterday, they spoke with basically one voice and said support for gay marriage does not have a place in the modern GOP.

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RNC

RNC Candidates: We Heart Fighting Voter Fraud

Eric Kleefeld | January 3, 2011, 3:15PM

This afternoon's RNC chairmanship debate saw the candidates being asked what they would do about a perennial issue that is near and dear to GOP hearts: The threat of alleged Democratic voter fraud.

As you probably know, voter fraud is a frequent complaint among Republicans, motivating their efforts to enact laws such as voter-identification, and to dispatch poll-watchers to precincts in (heavily Democratic) urban areas. At the other end of the spectrum, Democrats are quick to point out that very few voter-fraud prosecutions ever actually take place, and that the GOP's efforts would have a great impact of making it harder for lower-class and minority demographics to vote.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Michael Steele's Summer Vacation: Elect Republicans, Then Reelect Me!]

Reince Priebus was first. "Well that's a good question for me, because I was chairman when we sued our Government Accountability Board in the state of Wisconsin over our non-compliance with an eight-year-old HAVA [Help America Vote Act] law," said Priebus, who then criticized the very open voting system in his state. "We are one of the few states in the entire country, in Wisconsin, where you can actually vote on Election Day without registering. And you can also vote without any picture identification at all. So our challenges in Wisconsin are astronomical."

He also added: "I think we need to win more races in the legislature so we can pass photo ID in all states, and make sure that we either have photo ID or real ID, or some method of protecting our constitutional right to vote in this country. And I think it has to be a top priority of the next chairman."

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RNC

With Priebus Surging, Is Michael Steele Heading For A Big Loss?

Eric Kleefeld | December 31, 2010, 8:54AM

The race for the Republican National Committee chairmanship is heating up -- with Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus now having emerged as the frontrunner to defeat the incumbent Chairman Michael Steele.

The next big event to watch is this Monday, January 3, when the candidates will meet for a debate hosted by Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform.

In many ways, it seems odd that Steele could very well lose, after a cycle in which the GOP made big gains in offices large and small. And if there's one thing we've learned about Steele, it's that he has an impressive ability to weather scandals and gaffes that would fell others. But now, after all those gaffes and scandals, his opponents are now striking back in the open at election time.

Steele faces a crowded field of challengers that includes: Priebus, a former Steele ally whose smashing success at painting his state red this year has helped him shoot to the top; former Michigan GOP chair Saul Anuzis (also a previous 2009 RNC candidate, and the first challenger to get in this time); former Bush Administration official Maria Cino (who has been endorsed by Dick Cheney); former Missouri GOP chair Ann Wagner; and to top it all off, former high-ranking Steele aide Gentry Collins.

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RNC

After Palin Rebuffs Them, Tea Party Nation Backs Saul Anuzis For RNC Chair

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 7, 2010, 10:06AM

Fmr. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis

Tea Party Nation chief Judson Phillips isn't going to get his first choice for Republican National Commitee chair, so he says he'll settle for Saul Anuzis instead. Yesterday, Phillips implored Sarah Palin to make a run for the top job, claiming that Palin was the best chance the tea party has to keep the "establishment" from taking over. Palin said thanks but no thanks, stating that "there are others who would probably be much more comfortable asking people for money than I would be."

In a new statement on the Tea Party Nation website, Phillips said he expected Palin to say no to his idea, but "I was surprised at how quickly that 'no' came." Still, he writes, Palin's rejection doesn't mean the tea party can't have a candidate in the race for RNC chair.

"Fortunately for us, there is a conservative alternative," Phillips writes. "Saul Anuzis."

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Michael Steele

RNC Member: Don't Count Michael Steele Out Yet

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 15, 2010, 1:37PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Several media reports suggest the vultures are circling Michael Steele's Republican National Committee chairmanship. But it's not quite over yet, according to one voting member of the Republican National Committee who says he's supporting Steele. That member laid out Steele's path to victory in a phone interview with TPM this morning.

David Lewis is a four-term North Carolina state Representative and a voting member of his state's RNC delegation. Along with the rest of the 168 voting members of the RNC, Lewis will cast his vote in January to elect the party's next chairman. And at this point, he says Steele's still the man to beat -- and the candidate who has his vote.

"This race is not played out in the press," Lewis said. "I'd be confident to say [Steele] has 100 votes."

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Saul Anuzis

Michael Steele Gets His First Challenger

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 12, 2010, 9:44AM

Fmr. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis

The insurgency against RNC Chair Michael Steele has officially begun. Former Michigan Republican Party chair Saul Anuzis announced to the 168 voting RNC members this morning that he's running for Steele's job.

"[T]he simple fact is that the overriding challenge we face is winning back the Presidency in 2012," Anuzis wrote in a letter posted to his website this morning. "We will not accomplish that objective unless there is dramatic change in the way the RNC does business."

Anuzis squared off against Steele in the chair's race last year, losing to the former Maryland Lt. Governor. Now he's the first of what is expected to be a slew of candidates who will challenge Steele after a gaffe-filled period at the RNC with Steele at the helm.

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