Four to qualify for RNC ballot amid busy week

Republican National Committee members gathering this week in Washington to start selecting a new chairman who can help get their party back on track will hear from four candidates who have secured enough public endorsements to be nominated.

South Carolina GOP chief Katon Dawson, Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis and current chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan all have the backing of a majority of delegates from three states, the threshold for appearing on the ballot.

{mosads}Two other candidates have yet to release enough names to guarantee a spot on the ballot. Former Maryland Lieutenant Gov. Michael Steel and former Tennessee GOP party chairman Chip Saltsman, who was criticized by Duncan and Anuzis for circulating a CD to RNC members that included the parody song “Barack the Magic Negro,” are also running for the position.

The announcements of support come as candidates spend the weekend preparing for a busy week of campaigning in Washington, where dozens of RNC members will gather to poke and prod the candidates’ views and strategies.

With President Bush leaving the White House and Republicans suffering defeats in the House and Senate in 2008, the national party position has emerged as a key battleground over the future of the GOP.

The week kicks off with a debate on Monday hosted by Americans for Tax Reform, moderated by Grover Norquist at the National Press Club. On Tuesday, a group calling itself the Conservative Steering Committee will interview all six candidates and hold a straw poll, followed by an official meeting of the Republican National Committee on Wednesday.

RNC members have been slow to publicly announce their support for chairman candidates, and many say they are keeping their powder dry until they have had a chance to hear more from the candidates. Strategists expect a wave of endorsement rollouts after each candidate has had a chance to make their case before large groups of members.

Heading into the week, Anuzis and Blackwell lead the field in public support, though Duncan and Steele have received the most attention from RNC members. To appear on the ballot, a candidate must be nominated by a majority of the delegates from at least three states. That means securing votes from two of the three delegates — made of a state chairperson and two national committee members — from more than just one’s home state.

Duncan is the latest candidate to announce support from enough RNC members to get nominated. On Sunday, Duncan sources told The Hill he had a majority of votes from Kentucky, Minnesota and Puerto Rico.

On Saturday, Duncan won backing from RNC co-chair Jo Ann Davidson, who is stepping down after two terms on the job. Davidson, the national committeewoman from Ohio, will chair Duncan’s re-election campaign, she announced in an email to RNC members.

Dawson locked down the votes required to get on the ballot on Friday, when he won backing from North Carolina chairwoman Linda Daves. The endorsement gives Dawson a majority of the Tarheel State’s delegation. Dawson also has the backing of the majority of the South Carolina and Iowa delegations.

Blackwell, the last candidate to jump into the race, was also one of the first to secure the necessary votes. Blackwell boasts endorsements from all three members of the Texas delegation and a majority of members from Louisiana and Alaska.

On Friday, Blackwell announced the support of Colorado national committeeman Mark Hillman, a development first reported by The Hill last week.

Anuzis, who along with Blackwell has the most  public commitments, is also a safe bet to be on the ballot. Anuzis has been endorsed by two members of the New Jersey, Connecticut and Guam delegations, and he has support from his home state of Michigan as well.

The remaining two candidates have not rolled out any public endorsements so far.

A spokesperson for Steele said the campaign would not release the names of their backers, though several RNC members have told The Hill they have committed privately. An aide to Saltsman would say only the candidate, who served as Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s (R) presidential campaign manager in 2008, is confident he will get the required signatures to get on the ballot.

Many see the election as a referendum on Duncan’s tenure, with debates raging about how much credit or blame he deserves for two rough cycles that happened on his watch. Duncan is expected to come under polite but pointed fire at Monday’s debate as several state party chairman have chafed under what they see as a lack of attention from the national party.

Steele’s team has fought perceptions that the former Maryland GOP chairman and lieutenant governor is insufficiently conservative, a notion advisors dismiss out of hand by pointing to a solidly anti-abortion career along with other conservative credentials. Steele’s biggest hurdle this week is likely to come Tuesday, as some see the Conservative Steering Committee as a vehicle for those who would hope to deny him the chairmanship.

Anuzis, who has been plotting his bid for chairman for months, has less of an alliance with any one definable voting bloc and is positioning himself as the kind of voter Republicans need to win if they are to get back to the majority. Opponents question Anuzis’ tenure as chairman of the Michigan party, which has suffered substantial electoral losses in recent years.

Blackwell, meanwhile, has surprised many with his fast start after a late entry into the race. Still, Blackwell is the only major candidate of the six not to have previously served on the RNC, meaning he will have to quickly build relationships among voters with whom other candidates have served for years.

But some say those relationships may be less important this year than in others. Fully half of national committee members joined the committee after January 2007, and 49 of the 168 members joined in 2008, giving them a shorter institutional memory than those who have served longer.