Maryland Politics: Source to Ambinder: Steele interested in RNC chair - Your source of news and gossip from the Mason-Dixon Line to the Potomac

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October 24, 2008

Source to Ambinder: Steele interested in RNC chair

After former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele lost his U.S. Senate bid, there was speculation that he would become chairman of the Republican National Committee.

But Steele broke one of the cardinal rules of seeking higher office. He said he was interested in the spot. That's a no-no. The job went instead to Kentucky native Mike Duncan.

For Steele, maybe that's a good thing. Duncan could end his two-year tenure watching his party lose the White House and sink further into minority status in the House and Senate.

Steele went on to head GOPAC, the Republican recruitment effort once run by Newt Gingrich. But apparently the former Maryland Republican chairman still harbors hopes for the national position.

As first reported on the blog of the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder and picked up today by the Baltimore Sun's Laura Vozzella, sources say Steele is talking up his candidacy, but this time much more quietly.

Posted by David Nitkin at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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About the bloggers

Laura Smitherman has been ensconced in the State House basement, writing about the governor, General Assembly and vagaries of Maryland politics for several years. An erstwhile business reporter, her interest in politics dates to her days in Washington when she covered Congress and national campaigns for another media outlet. She now follows a range of policy debates from slot-machine gambling to universal health care and energy regulation, while keeping an eye on the next election.

Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital.

Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.

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