| Reince Priebus | |
|---|---|
| 65th Chairman of the Republican National Committee | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 14, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Steele |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Reinhold Reince Priebus March 18, 1972 Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.[1] |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Priebus; two children |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Whitewater University of Miami School of Law |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
| Website | Reince Priebus' blogsite |
Reinhold Reince Priebus ( /raɪns ˈpriːbəs/; born March 18, 1972)[2][3][4] is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. He is also a previous chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
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Priebus is of Greek and German descent, the son of Dimitra and Roula Priebus, who is a former electrician and now deals in real estate.[5][6]
Raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin by age 16 he was volunteering for political campaigns.[7] He graduated from George Nelson Tremper High School in 1990. He graduated cum laude from University of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 1994, where he was elected student body president and earned his bachelor's degree in political science and English.[6]
After college, he worked as a committee clerk in the Wisconsin Legislature and then went to law school at the University of Miami School of Law where he was president of the student bar association and where he received his Juris Doctorate cum laude in 1998.[8][9][6] During law school, he interned for the NAACP legal defense fund in Los Angeles.[10]
Priebus met his wife Sally in high school, where the two attended prom together. They married in 1999 and have two children.[6]
Priebus joined Michael Best & Friedrich in Milwaukee, where he became a partner in the litigation practice group and co-chair of the government and public policy group.[6]
In 2008 Milwaukee's Business Journal named him one of Milwaukee's "40 Under 40".[6] Super Lawyers named him a "Rising Star".
In 2004, in his first bid for public office, Priebus unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Robert Wirch for a seat in the Wisconsin Senate.[11][12]
In 2007, Priebus was elected Chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party. As Chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Priebus presided over a historic shake up of the political landscape in 2010 as Republicans won the Governor's race, picked up a US Senate seat and took control of both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. This was the first time since 1998 that Republicans controlled both the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate.
Priebus was elected as Chairman of the Republican National Committee on January 14, 2011. He was elected in an unprecedented seventh ballot. Following Ann Wagner's withdrawal from the race, Priebus received the votes of 97 of the 168 committee members. In his race for chairman, Reince Priebus joined a myriad of candidates including Maria Cino, Ann Wagner, Saul Anuzis and incumbent Chairman Michael Steele. In declaring his candidacy, he said, "I'm not running for Chairman because I think I'm better than anyone or because I think I have all the answers. I'm running for chairman for only one reason: I believe our country is in a time of great peril and we have to do something about it." To turn around the RNC, Priebus said, "I will keep expenses low. I will put in strong and serious controls. We will raise the necessary funds to make sure we are successful. We will work to regain the confidence of our donor base and I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC."
The race centered around whether the direction that Steele was taking the committee should be continued. It became clear that a change was desired, so the race turned into who would be best to turn things around at the RNC. Issues involving the RNC's get-out-the-vote operation, along with its relationship with the Tea Party and the grassroots and the committee's $21 million in debt were front and center in the race. In the December 1, 2010 RNC candidate forum, Priebus provided a few details about his politics. He stated he believes the RNC is "part of" the Tea Party movement; he believes it is the Republican Party's mission to "save our country, to save our party and to take back the White House"; believes someone who is "pro-abortion, pro-stimulus, pro-AIG ... might not be a Republican" and believes that being pro-life is "paramount" to the Republican Party platform.
When Priebus took over as Chairman, the RNC had over $24 million in debt. Right away, he moved to establish himself as a “workhorse political operative - in sharp contrast to Steele, a telegenic figure whose verbal gaffes and spending fueled controversy”. Priebus started luring back many of the major donors that had left the committee during Michael Steele's rocky tenure. The RNC has raised over $30 million since Priebus became Chairman. In May, the RNC raised $6.2 million and reported $6.1 million cash on hand. After releasing the May fundraising numbers Priebus said, "We will have the resources to turn back the failed leadership of Barack Obama and return a Republican majority to the U.S. Senate in 2012."
In an April 5, 2011 interview with Meredith Viera on The Today Show, Preibus stated, "Under [President Barack Obama], he’s promised millions and millions of jobs. We've lost 26 million jobs, Meredith, since he’s been president. He promised under an $850 billion stimulus program that we'd be on a path to recovery. Well, none of that has come true.... I think that pointing out a snail's pace in the job (growth) numbers is not going to be enough to undo 26 million jobs that are lost, Meredith." The non-partisan watchdog group PolitiFact rated this statement 'Pants On Fire'. He later clarified that he meant 2.6 million jobs were lost, not 26 million.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Steele |
Chairman of the Republican National Committee January 20, 2011 – present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |