Charles Ellison

September 07, 2010 | Politics

State GOP Operations Have Little Confidence in RNC

Most polls and pre-November political observers agree that Republicans are geared toward making significant gains during the upcoming Congressional midterms. Yet, persistent money troubles at the Republican National Committee under the reign of Chairman Michael Steele tell another tale as state party chairs, GOP strategists and other officials express worry over the GOP’s ability to muster resources in key races.

Traditionally, the RNC is seen as a fundraising juggernaut, even during the past two election cycles when they lost control of the House in 2006 and the White House slipped away in 2008. But, questions linger over Steele’s ability to steer the party after repeated public gaffes and recent Federal Election Commission reports showing the party with over $2 million in debt and limping into the midterms with only $5 million cash on hand. That’s not nearly enough to coordinate voter outreach and mobilization efforts – in 2008, according to FEC reports, the RNC had provided Ohio Republicans with $5 million for voter turnout.

The severity of the RNC’s financial situation has caused state party leaders and candidates to circumvent the RNC, displaying a worrisome lack of faith in the embattled chair who has also been accused of covering up the Committee’s fiscal problems. In the case of the Buckeye State, Republican activists in Ohio felt compelled to create a totally separate, tax-exempt Freedom Vote that would help with sponsor activities that the RNC is unable to fund.

Former Bush 2004 campaign aide and Republican strategist Terry Holt warns of any premature celebrations of a GOP victory in November. “This isn’t going to be as easy as it looks, by any means,” says Holt in a Chicago Tribune interview. “It’s going to require an awful lot of really focused organizational and grass-roots efforts to truly take advantage of the opportunity we have been given.” As a result, Republicans in many key states have been ramping up fundraising and volunteer efforts attempting to capitalize on the large wave of enthusiasm from base voters and conservative activists.

Despite the 10-point enthusiasm advantage over Democrats, Republicans are not pleased by the potential of lost advantage due to money woes. “We should not be scraping the bottom of the bucket late in the game,” says one well-placed GOP strategist with intimate knowledge of the Committee’s operations who spoke anonymously in comments to Politic365.com. “Michael [Steele] is making it very hard for the rest of us. While everybody is trying to figure out what his game plan is, I really doubt he has one.”

Steele, however, remains defiant amid the controversy surrounding his tenure as Chair. He has indicated his intention to run for re-election next year, although there is mounting opposition from a number of prominent Republicans lobbying Committee Members to oust Steele after the elections. Some sources claim the Steele is not even running the party anymore, as major GOP operatives have created their own independent fundraising organizations or candidates rely more on Republican Congressional and Senate campaign committees. But, Steele – pointing to GOP upsets in Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere as a sign of his effectiveness – does not appear ready to relinquish his role anytime soon.

Charles D. Ellison, Managing Editor for Politic365.com, Washington Correspondent for The Philadelphia Tribune and a weekly political analyst providing insight on WDAS-FM (Philadelphia), WVON-AM (Chicago) and KSRO-AM (Sonoma County, CA). He is author of the critically-acclaimed urban political thriller TANTRUM. More information can be found at http://www.cdellison.com