Ken Blackwell | RNC Chairman

Blackwell’s RNC bid gains steam
Washington TImes - Ralph Z. Hallow
December 17, 2008

Texas Republican Party Chairman Tina Benkiser has teamed up with Ohio´s Ken Blackwell in the contest to lead the Republican National Committee over the next two years. 

The Washington Times has learned Mrs. Benkiser has decided to forgo a run for RNC national chairman and instead to run for co-chairman, a traditionally less powerful position that historically, with one exception, has been held by a woman. 

“If I ran for chairman, I decided after looking over the field, it might contribute to dividing the conservative vote and allowing a moderate to win,” she told The Times in a phone interview Tuesday.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/17/blackwells-rnc-bid-gains-steam/

Bruce Ash: Undecided but friendly words for Blackwell
December 18, 2008

AZ RNC Member Bruce Ash has a blog and posted his thoughts on Ken Blackwell getting into the race. With how few voters there are in this election, I am hoping to feature individual members and their thoughts as each voter represent 0.6% of the electorate. 

From Bruce’s letter:
I have met and spoken with Mr Blackwell in depth about his political views. I have found Ken to be devoted and consistent conservative. He has held a number of political positions in Ohio winning 13 of 17 contests. He has demonstrated a keen ability to raise money. He is a friend of the taxpayer , pro 2nd Amendment and opposes same sex marriage and abortion. In addition to his political activism he has also been a proven success in the business world.

http://race4rncchair.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/bruce-ash-undecided-but-friendly-words-for-blackwell/

A Shakeup In The RNC Chairman’s Race
The Atlantic - Marc Ambinder
December 17, 2008

The decision of Texas Republican Party chair Tina Benkiser and former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell to formally ally in the race to become the next chairman of the Republican National Committee is, by rights, a minor affair, but it has to the potential to be the most important development yet….

Combined, the Blackwell-Benkiser ticket commands the support of at least 20 to 25 members, and probably closer to 30 of them. About 40% of the 168 members on the committee are estimated to be hard core social conservatives. Support from 85 members is needed to win. Parochially, the alliance gives Blackwell an entree into the Texas delegation. More importantly, Benkiser gives him some administrative cover, because she, not he, has run a party organization before. But now that there’s a ticket so solidly identified with the Christian right, there will be many Republicans who, while not wishing them ill, worry about a party that is too overtly Christian and religious. The ticket, therefore, opens up an avenue for candidates who don’t claim to be the avatars of evangelical activists. To be sure, the next RNC chairman will be opposed to gay marriage and pro-life.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/anuxis_breakfasttexasbenkiser.php

Blackwell Woos Conservatives
American Spectator - James Antle 
December 16, 2008
…Blackwell has announced a flurry of endorsements on the RNC and from outside conservatives. Last week, he received key endorsements from committee members Chuck Yob, Roger Villere, and Gary Jones. He has been endorsed by Steve Forbes. And yesterday, Club for Growth President Pat Toomey also came out for Blackwell. Although not everyone sees ideology as an important criterion for a good RNC chair — Jim Geraghty included that idea as one of the six myths about the RNC race — Blackwell is clearly making a push for the votes of those who want to make sure the next chairman is a conservative.

http://spectator.org/blog/2008/12/16/blackwell-woos-the-right

The Washington Times reported this morning that our campaign to rebuild the Republican Party continues to gain steam.  The response from the announcement yesterday that Tina Benkiser and I are teaming up has been nothing short of phenomenal.

We believe that we are offering the membership a leadership team that complements each others’ strengths very well.  Tina has the experience in running a state party organization in one of our largest states, and knows what the RNC needs to do to help you succeed.

Today we are very pleased to announce that Republican National Committeeman Ross Little from Louisiana and Republican National Committeewoman Ruth Ulrich from Louisiana have endorsed our ticket.  Please take a moment to read their letter below.

I am currently traveling the country to meet with members such as you.  I am in the northeast today and tomorrow and will be heading out west later in the week.  Please contact me if you have time to talk over the phone, or meet in person, about our plans to rebuild the Republican Party.  Also, if you have a chance, please consider reading this piece I wrote for National Review about the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General.

In this challenging time for our Party, it is exciting to see the quality of leaders who have stepped forward.  We have watched the race for RNC Chairman closely, and we have carefully considered each of the candidates.

Each candidate brings a unique perspective on the direction for our Party, but after thoughtful deliberation, we have decided to  support Ken Blackwell for Chairman of the RNC.

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Dear RNC Member,

Today we are very pleased to make the most important announcement of the campaign for RNC Chairman.  I am pleased to announce that I will be running with Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser as a ticket for the positions of Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee, respectively.

I wholeheartedly endorse her candidacy for Co-Chairman and thank her for her support.

This is clearly exciting news for our campaign.  I am ever more excited about the potential to work with Tina to lead our party to victory in 2010.  She has been one of the very best state party chairmen in the country and has the values and principles that we need in party leadership.  She offers a vital perspective of what state party organizations across the country need from the RNC in order to best help you succeed.

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I pride myself on my experience as an economic conservative.

I worked with Jack Kemp on tax reform in 1995 to initiate the flat tax discussion, supported Steve Forbes on his Presidential campaign, and I continue serve on the board of both the Club for Growth and the National Taxpayers Union.

Fiscal conservatism is something I take very seriously and, unfortunately, our party has lost its way on these important issues in recent years. Renewing the Republican Party’s economically conservative principles will be one of my top priorities as RNC Chairman. It is the right thing to do for America and it is the right thing to do for the GOP.

I am proud to announce that Pat Toomey, the President of the Club for Growth, has endorsed my candidacy this morning. He is at the forefront of the battle for fiscal conservatism and I am proud to have his support. He joins Steve Forbes and other prominent fiscal conservatives as supporters of our campaign.

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Today we are pleased to announce that Debbie Joslin, the Republican National Committeewoman from Alaska, and Ralph Seekins, the Republican National Committeeman from Alaska, have endorsed my campaign for Chairman of the RNC. Please read their letter below. I appreciate their friendship and support and look forward to working with these two excellent conservative leaders.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk about our campaign on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Wolf essentially put me up against Colin Powell and I appreciate the kind words many of you sent me about how I performed. I look forward to similar opportunities in the days ahead.

This has been an exciting first week for our campaign. We are very happy to report that it looks like next week will be equally productive. I want to give thanks to all of the RNC Members who in recent days have offered their support, advice, and counsel. Together, we will re-ignite the conservative revolution and bring our party back to prominence.

We watched the RNC Chairman’s race with great interest over the past few weeks and were very happy to see Ken Blackwell’s announcement and subsequent endorsements by Steve Forbes, Chuck Yob, Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere, and Oklahoma GOP Chairman Gary Jones.

Today we would like to join these fine conservative leaders in endorsing Ken Blackwell for Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Ken Blackwell is a dynamite conservative who will not stray from his conservative principles. He is solidly pro-life and pro Second Amendment and did an excellent job as Vice Chairman of the Platform Committee at the 2008 Republican National Convention. Ken is a Distinguished Fellow at Family Research Council, Member of the Board of the NRA, National Taxpayers Union Board Member, Club for Growth Board Member, and served as General Chairman of Steve Forbes campaign for President; these are associations we can be proud of.

Simply put, Ken Blackwell is a conservative superstar.

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I am very proud to announce that Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere and Oklahoma GOP Chairman Gary Jones endorsed my campaign this morning.

Louisiana Republican and Oklahoma Republican were two of the most successful states in this election cycle. Louisiana won both special elections for Congress last weekend and had one of the best years in their history. Oklahoma took control of their State Senate and won every county for John McCain.

I have asked them to serve as Co-Chairs of my campaign and would have them highly involved in running the RNC if you honor me with your vote on January 29th. Support for our campaign continues to grow and we will release additional RNC Member endorsements very soon.

Please see the letter below from Roger and Gary.

Dear RNC Member,

Today we join Steve Forbes and Chuck Yob in announcing our support for Ken Blackwell for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. As part of that support we have agreed to serve as Co-Chairs of Ken’s campaign.

We believe that Ken Blackwell will make the strongest RNC Chairman for the following reasons.

- Ken is a conservative who has experience working with important segments of our base such as the National Rifle Association, the Family Research Council, and the Club for Growth.

- Ken has experience representing our party on national television and has the authority to be taken seriously by the media and the American people.

- Ken knows what it takes to win elections having been successful in thirteen out of the seventeen times he has been on the ballot.

- Ken understands the mechanics of our party having worked in all fifty states across the country to fight Democrat attempts to rig the census.

This year Louisiana Republicans experienced one of the best years ever, winning two congressional seats in runoffs this past Saturday by a combined 2% while ousting an incumbent Democrat in a Democrat district. It was a phenomenal ending to a phenomenal cycle in Louisiana.

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I was very happy to announce yesterday that Steve Forbes agreed to be the Honorary Chairman of my campaign for RNC Chairman. Steve is one of the top conservative leaders in our country and his support and counsel is invaluable.

Today I am very pleased to announce that former Republican National Committeeman Chuck Yob has decided against running for Chairman and instead has endorsed my candidacy. As you know, Chuck was on the committee for twenty years and served in almost every leadership capacity at one time or another including Co-Chairman of the Republican National Convention, RNC Vice Chairman, RNC Resolutions Chairman, Republican National Convention Credentials Committee Chairman, and numerous others. His advice on this campaign will be crucial.

Chuck had a number of RNC Members supporting him and his endorsement is very important news for our efforts. We will be announcing the support of key RNC Members around the country in the next couple of days so please stay tuned.

Please read the letter below from Chuck.

Dear RNC Member,

I want to thank those of you who offered your support for my potential candidacy for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Your friendship over the years means a great deal to me and I appreciate it.

I am writing you today to announce that I have decided against running for Chairman and instead urge my supporters and friends on the committee to support Ken Blackwell.

In my years of involvement on the RNC there have been few candidates for RNC Chairman with the qualifications of Ken Blackwell.

His conservative credentials cannot be questioned.

He is on the board or a fellow for several national conservative organizations such as the National Rifle Association, Club for Growth, Family Research Council, and Heritage Foundation.

He has experience as a candidate winning elections.

Ken has run for public office seventeen times and was successful in thirteen of those campaigns. He was elected statewide in Ohio as Treasurer, Secretary of State, and was the Republican nominee for Governor.

He has tremendous experience fighting the Democrat attempts to steal elections.

He was tapped by Trent Lott and Newt Gingrich to lead GOP efforts in the census battle against the application of ’sampling’ techniques that Democrats tried to use to game the system. He traveled to all fifty states (literally) and fought the good fight for our party in courtrooms and political arenas across the country.

He took on the Democrats in 2004 as Secretary of State of Ohio and prevented them from stealing the election from President Bush.

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