Steele to Seek Second Term as RNC Chairman

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele will seek a second two-year term, he told committee members on Monday, further scrambling a campaign that has already attracted several candidates hungry to replace the incumbent.

He will spend the next month defending his tenure to members across the country. But while he will focus on major gains Republicans made in the midterm elections, Steele will have to answer other questions.

Steele has faced grumbling from committee members and conservative activists for comments suggesting abortion was an individual choice; saying his party wasn't ready to lead; and implying that criticism of his time in office had to do with the fact that he is African American. He had to apologize to radio host Rush Limbaugh for calling Limbaugh's show "incendiary" and "ugly," and he defended himself and fired staff for a post-fundraiser party at a risque Los Angeles nightclub.

Perhaps most damaging, Steele has been accused of allowing the party's major donor program to drastically erode. While small-dollar fundraising has grown, many of those who traditionally wrote five-figure checks felt neglected. That, in turn, hurt the committee's political chances, Steele critics said.