Minnesota Independent » Ken Blackwell http://minnesotaindependent.com News. Politics. Media. Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:22:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Steele wins tight contest to become RNC chair http://minnesotaindependent.com/25035/steele-wins-tight-rnc-chair-contest http://minnesotaindependent.com/25035/steele-wins-tight-rnc-chair-contest#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:23:49 +0000 Paul Demko http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=25035 Michael Steele will be the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. The former lieutenant governor of Maryland and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate staved off four other contenders for the post. Steele was seen as the least conservative…]]> Michael Steele will be the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. The former lieutenant governor of Maryland and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate staved off four other contenders for the post. Steele was seen as the least conservative of the candidates and ran on a platform of shaking up the party.

It took six ballots for Steele to garner the necessary 85 votes to win, finally beating back South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson by a 91-77 margin. Current chair Mike Duncan led on the first ballot with 52 votes, but his support steadily eroded, and he dropped out after the third round. Steele got a key boost when former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell dropped out after the fourth ballot and endorsed the eventual victory.

]]> http://minnesotaindependent.com/25035/steele-wins-tight-rnc-chair-contest/feed 1 Coleman as RNC chairman? http://minnesotaindependent.com/21974/coleman-as-rnc-chairman http://minnesotaindependent.com/21974/coleman-as-rnc-chairman#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:59:07 +0000 Paul Demko http://minnesotaindependent.com/?p=21974 The state canvassing board is expected to name Al Franken the winner of the U.S. Senate contest when it convenes this afternoon. This milestone, however, will almost certainly not mark the final chapter in the never-ending recount. Norm Coleman’s…]]> The state canvassing board is expected to name Al Franken the winner of the U.S. Senate contest when it convenes this afternoon. This milestone, however, will almost certainly not mark the final chapter in the never-ending recount. Norm Coleman’s campaign has stated that it will contest the result in court, arguing that various improprieties — wrongly rejected absentee ballots, double-counted ballots and lost ballots — have tainted the process.

But the likelihood of an election contest in either state or federal court has not deterred speculation on Coleman’s next move if he ultimately is defeated. The Washington Post reports today that one (unnamed) “well-connected GOP operative” said that Coleman is being mentioned as a possible chairman of the Republican National Committee.

There are currently at least six contenders for the RNC post, including current chair Robert “Mike” Duncan, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and South Carolina chairman Katon Dawson. Coleman would bring a couple of attractive attributes: an established track record as a prolific fundraiser and geographical diversity to a party increasingly dominated by the south.

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