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Michael Steele becomes first black RNC chairman

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In this Feb. 10, 2007 file photo, Chairman of the Michigan GOP Saul Anuzis talks to state Republicans during the Michigan GOP Convention in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Adam Bird, File (Adam Bird - AP)

In this Nov. 5, 2008 file photo, Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan addresses a forum at the National Press Club in Washington. After losing the presidency and seats in both the House and Senate, Duncan is trying to hold onto his job against five challengers all calling for change. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) (Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP)

In this Sept. 3, 2008 file photo, Michael Steele speaks at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. After losing the presidency and seats in both the House and Senate, Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan is trying to hold onto his job against five challengers all calling for change - including Steele. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) (Ron Edmonds - AP)

In this Nov. 6, 2006 file photo, former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell applauds during a campaign stop in Lima, Ohio. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) (Nati Harnik - AP)

In this Aug. 9, 2007 file photo, South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson speaks in Concord, N.H. After losing the presidency and seats in both the House and Senate, RNC Chairman Mike Duncan is trying to hold onto his job against five challengers all calling for change. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File) (Jim Cole - AP)

In this Sept. 3, 2008 file photo, Michael Steele speaks at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. On Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, Steele was elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File) (Ron Edmonds - AP)

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele smiles after being elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009, in Washington. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele holds a gavel after he was elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman in an election by the RNC during their winter meetings, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Washington. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, center, is congratulated by supporters after the announcement that he was elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman by the RNC during their winter meetings, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Washington. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, left, is congratulated by Ohio Sec. of State, Ken Blackwell, right, after being elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman in an election by the RNC during their winter meetings, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Washington. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman, Katon Dawson, scratches his head as he works the room during the final vote for Republican Party Chairman during elections at the RNC's winter meeting, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Washington. Dawson lost to former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who was elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, center, is congratulated by supporters after the announcement that he had been elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman by the RNC during their winter meetings, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Washington. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, right, talks to Linda Ackerman, left, after being elected the first black Republican National Committee chairman in an election by the RNC during their winter meetings, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 in Washington. Steele was the most moderate candidate in the field and was considered an outsider because he's not an RNC member. He beat back four challengers, including incumbent Mike Duncan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

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By LIZ SIDOTI

The Associated Press
Friday, January 30, 2009; 8:37 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president. The choice marked no less than "the dawn of a new party," declared the new GOP chairman, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Republicans chose Steele over four other candidates, including former President George W. Bush's hand-picked GOP chief, who bowed out declaring, "Obviously the winds of change are blowing."

Steele takes the helm of a beleaguered Republican Party that is trying to recover after crushing defeats in November's national elections that gave Democrats control of Congress put Barack Obama in the White House.

GOP delegates erupted in cheers and applause when his victory was announced, but it took six ballots to get there. He'll serve a two-year term.

Steele, an attorney, is a conservative, but he was considered the most moderate of the five candidates running.

He was also considered an outsider because he's not a member of the Republican National Committee. But the 168-member RNC clearly signaled it wanted a change after eight years of Bush largely dictating its every move as the party's standard-bearer.

Steele became the first black candidate elected to statewide office in Maryland in 2002, and he made an unsuccessful Senate run in 2006. The former chairman of the Maryland Republican Party currently serves as chairman of GOPAC, an organization that recruits and trains Republican political candidates, and in that role he has been a frequent presence on the talk show circuit.

He vowed to expand the reach of the party by competing for every group, everywhere.

"We're going to say to friend and foe alike: 'We want you to be a part of us, we want you to with be with us.' And for those who wish to obstruct, get ready to get knocked over," Steele said.

"There is not one inch of ground that we're going to cede to anybody," he added.

"This is the dawn of a new party moving in a new direction with strength and conviction."

His job is to spark a revival for the GOP as it takes on an empowered Democratic Party under the country's first black president in the next midterm elections and beyond.

He replaces Mike Duncan, who abandoned his re-election bid in the face of dwindling support midway through Friday's voting.

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