Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus joined C-SPAN’s Newsmakers to discuss the state of the RNC and party efforts going into the 2012 Presidential Election. Chairman Priebus reviewed the current financial state of the RNC and predicted that party debt will be less than $5 million by the end of the year.
He was questioned about the field of potential candidates, including a possible run by Donald Trump who has made headlines recently. The Chairman lauded the field of potential candidates and noted his personal confidence that the Republican Party candidate for 2012 can defeat President Obama.
Chairman Priebus believes the central focus of the presidential election will be the economy, considering the size of budget deficits and the levels of spending by Congress over the past two years. He also believes defeating the Obama health care law will be a key issue for the future Republican presidential candidate as well. When asked what is a top challenge in defeating Pres. Obama, the chairman noted the President’s ability to raise substantial campaign funds.
The chairman was also questioned about party efforts for the U.S. Senate in 2012, but did not promise a Republican takeover of the Senate or specific candidates for key races such as the Wisconsin U.S. Senate seat held currently by Herb Kohl (D-WI). The chairman reiterated his support for all primary winners and noted that it was RNC policy not to endorse candidates, including incumbents until a candidate has been selected by the voters.