2011 Republican National Committee chairmanship election

The 2011 Republican National Committee (RNC) chairmanship election was held on January 14, 2011, to determine the next chairman of the RNC, to serve a two-year term ending in 2013 and will lead the party through the 2012 general elections. After seven rounds of balloting, Reince Priebus was elected chairman over incumbent chair Michael Steele, Saul Anuzis, Ann Wagner and Maria Cino.^[1]

2011 Republican National Committee chairmanship election

← 2009 January 14, 2011 (2011-01-14) 2013 →
168 members of the Republican National Committee 85 votes needed to win
Candidate Reince Priebus Saul Anuzis First round 45 votes 26.8% 24 votes 14.3% Seventh round 97 votes 57.7% 43 votes 25.5%   Candidate Maria Cino Michael Steele First round 32 votes 19.0% 44 votes 26.2% Seventh round 28 votes 16.6% Withdrawn
Chairman before election Michael Steele Elected Chairman Reince Priebus

Priebus won re-election with near unanimity in the party's 2013 meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[2] He was likewise re-elected to a third term in 2015, setting him up to become the longest serving head of the party ever.^[3]

Candidates

• Saul Anuzis, National Chairman for the Save American Jobs Project, former Michigan Republican Party Chairman^[4]
• Maria Cino, Political Director of George Bush's 2000 Campaign^[5]
• Reince Priebus, Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin^[6]
• Michael Steele, incumbent Committee Chairman, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland^[7][8]
• Ann Wagner, former United States Ambassador to Luxembourg, former Missouri Republican Party Chairman^[9]

Former candidates who withdrew before voting began

• Gentry Collins, Former Political Director of the RNC,^[10] withdrew on January 2, 2010
• Gary Emineth, Chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party^[11]

Timeline

• December 13, 2010 – Incumbent Chair Steele announces bid for re-election.
• January 3, 2011 – Candidate debate held by Americans for Tax Reform at the National Press Club
• January 14, 2011 – Election held by party voting members in Washington, D.C.

Debates

A debate among the candidates hosted by Americans for Tax Reform took place on January 3, 2011, at the National Press Club.^[12] Anuzis, Cino, Priebus, Steele, and Wagner participated in the debate.^[13]

• Republican Committee Chair Debate, C-SPAN, January 3, 2011, full video

Polling

A poll by the National Journal, released on January 13, 2011, showed Priebus in the lead with 40 committed votes out of 168, Steele 17, Wagner 15, Anuzis 14, and Cino 12.

Results

With 168 voting members of the RNC, 85 votes were required to win the chairmanship.

Candidate	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
Reince Priebus	45	52	54	58	67	80	97
Saul Anuzis	24	22	21	24	32	37	43
Maria Cino	32	30	28	29	40	34	28
Ann Wagner	23	27	32	28	28	17	Withdrew
Michael Steele	44	37	33	28	Withdrew

  Candidate won majority of votes in the round

  Candidate secured a plurality of votes in the round

  Candidate withdrew