Dawson Blowout on 4th Ballot

Amanda Carpenter | January 30, 2009 2:41 PM

Big shocker on the fourth ballot.

South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson jumped into the lead with 62 votes, which means he was the beneficiary of Chairman Duncan's, who dropped out after the 3rd ballot, scattered votes

Here's the breakdown:

Dawson 62
Steele 60
Anuzis 31
Blackwell 15

Lots of gasps when Dawon's results were announced. People say this thing is going to take a lot longer now.

Word is that there is a wedding booked in the main ballroom at 5pm, which means if a candidate fails to reach a 85 vote majority by that time, the meeting is going to be moved to the St. Regis Hotel...which presents a ton of logistical problems--for the RNC and the poor bride who is going to be taking over the room after they leave.