Michael Steele

For other people named Michael Steele, see Michael Steele (disambiguation).

Michael Steele
Steele in 2019
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office
January 30, 2009 – January 14, 2011
Preceded byMike Duncan
Succeeded byReince Priebus
7th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
In office
January 15, 2003 – January 17, 2007
GovernorBob Ehrlich
Preceded byKathleen Kennedy Townsend
Succeeded byAnthony Brown
Chair of the Maryland Republican Party
In office
December 10, 2000 – July 1, 2002
Preceded byJoyce Lyon Tehres
Succeeded byLouis Pope
Personal details
Born (1958-10-19) October 19, 1958 (age 66)
Andrews Field, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Andrea Derritt
​
(m. 1985)​
Children2
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BA)
Villanova University
Georgetown University (JD)
Signature

Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2009 until 2011; he was the first African-American to hold either office.[1]

In the 1990s, Steele worked as a partner at the international law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae and co-founded the Republican Leadership Council, a "fiscally conservative and socially inclusive" political action committee.[2] Steele also made numerous appearances as a political pundit on Fox News and other media outlets prior to running for public office. As lieutenant governor, Steele chaired the Minority Business Enterprise task force, actively promoting an expansion of affirmative action in the corporate world.[3] He made an unsuccessful run in the 2006 U.S. Senate election in Maryland, losing to Democrat Ben Cardin. From 2007 to 2009, Steele was chairman of GOPAC, a 527 organization that trains and supports Republican candidates in state and local elections. After serving one term as RNC Chair from 2009 to 2011, he lost his bid for a second term and was succeeded by Reince Priebus.[4] Since 2011, Steele has contributed as a regular columnist for online magazine The Root[5] and as a political analyst for MSNBC.[6] In 2018, he became a Senior Fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.[7]

In 2020, he formally endorsed Joe Biden for the presidency, after previously starring in an advertisement aired by The Lincoln Project.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Michael Steele wins RNC chairmanship race". NBC News. Associated Press. January 30, 2009. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Michael Steele on Civil Rights". issues2000.org. On the Issues. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  4. ^ McKelway, Doug (December 13, 2010). "Steele Seeks Second Term As RNC Chair". Fox News. Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  5. ^ Hagey, Keach (May 2, 2011). "Michael Steele joins The Root as columnist". Politico. Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  6. ^ Terbush, Jon (May 23, 2011). "Michael Steele Joins MSNBC As Political Analyst". Talking Points Memo. TPM Media. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  7. ^ "Former RNC chair Michael Steele to join Brown's Watson Institute". Brown University. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  8. ^ Lejeune, Tristan (October 20, 2020). "Ex-RNC chair Michael Steele officially endorses Biden". TheHill. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Maegan Vazquez and Jim Acosta (October 20, 2020). "Former RNC chairman endorses Biden with two weeks left in the election". CNN. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.