Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele Silent About Re-Election Run

Dec. 8, 2010 -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has not appeared on television -- or anywhere in public -- since early November. That's an eternity for the man who has been the most vocal and visible leader of the RNC in recent memory.

Steele's silence is even more deafening considering his own party's historic gains in the midterm elections. While other top Republicans are making the most of their moment in the sun, Steele appears to be flying under the radar.

But the chairman, who has yet to announce whether he will run for re-election, has his reasons.

He and the RNC have been hit with a string of negative stories, including the news that the committee is more than $15 million in debt and is having trouble paying its vendors on time. Critics charge that Steele has been a poor steward of the party's finances and allowed its high-dollar donor program to languish.

And a handful of the critics aren't just talking about what they view as Steele's failings; they are starting campaigns to replace him. Meanwhile, Steele has been out of sight and it's starting to appear less likely that he will seek another term.

If he does, Steele would face a strong bloc of opposition. Three candidates -- one former and one current state Republican Party chair and the committee's ex-general counsel -- have already officially announced their bids for Steele's job and several others, including the RNC's own former political director, are all but in the race.

"I just don't see how he is going to run," said GOP national committeeman Solomon Yue of Oregon, adding that Steele's decision to skip a candidate forum in Washington last week organized by a Tea Party-affiliated group, and the RNC's Conservative Caucus, did not bode well for his re-election prospects.