The first ballot of the RNC chairman's race is now under way. Unless one of the candidates wins a majority, it won't be the last.
Nominating speeches were made for each of the five candidates this morning. The incumbent chairman, Mike Duncan of Kentucky, got the most applause. He's expected to finish on top in the first round, though with five candidates running, he's unlikely to gain a clear majority.
Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is expected to get the second highest number in the first round, and the nominating speeches for the other candidates seemed to reflect that assessment.
Katon Dawson, the South Carolina chairman, chose an African-American RNC member from his state, Glenn McCall, to nominate him. Dawson's membership in an all-white country club has been prominently mentioned in news accounts.
Another contender, Saul Anuzis, the Michigan Republican chairman, also picked an African-American RNC member from his state, Keith Butler, to put his name into nomination.
There is only a handful of blacks on the 168-member RNC, but race is an unspoken subtext in the contest to name a new chairman who will be a prominent party spokesman in opposition to the nation's first African-American president, Barack Obama.
Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the other African-American in the chairman's race, was nominated by Oklahoma Chairman Gary Jones, who resorted to a sports analogy in pushing the candidacy of the longest shot in the field.
"No one gave Arizona a chance to be in the Super Bowl this year," said Jones. He also said that Blackwell had gained the support of former RNC chairman candidate Chip Saltsman of Tennessee, who failed to gain enough support to qualify for today's balloting.
Longtime Maryland committeewoman Joyce Lyons Terhes nominated Steele, describing him as a "quality man" and "natural leader."
"Michael Steele works hard. Michael Steele raises money. Michael Steele wins elections," she said. "Michael Steele can communicate messages. Michael Steele can lead."
A seconding speaker for Duncan, the front-runner, took aim at Steele, without mentioning his name. Arguing that the job of party leader is "not about one person on TV," Willes K. Lee, the Hawaii chairman, said "it’s about thousands of us speaking, sharing conservative principles all across the nation."
A total of 168 RNC members are eligible to vote. It will take 85 votes to win.