Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus was reelected to a third term Friday, becoming the office’s longest tenured occupant in modern history.
Priebus was first elected in January 2011, and his selection to the post will take him through the 2016 general election. He focused his remarks on that future at the GOP’s winter gathering in San Diego Friday.
“If we want a government that honors the Constitution, respects our tax dollars, and doesn’t intrude into our daily lives, then we have work to do,” Priebus said according to remarks circulated by the party. “And if we want a president who spends less and listens more, then we have work to do. We have to elect a Republican president.”
Priebus noted the Republicans’ electoral success in 2014, but said that 2016 would be played on Democratic turf. To win, he said, the party will have to step up even more than it did last year.
“For 2016, we’re 80 percent of the way there, with 80 percent of the way left to go,” he quipped.
The GOP’s nomination process — which is beginning to bubble as candidates publicly weigh or decline runs — will take it to Cleveland for the 2016 convention. The party selected July 18 – 21 as the convention dates Thursday.
Also Friday, Republicans announced their presidential primary debate schedule, which will kick off in August with a forum hosted by FOX News. There will be one official debate per month after then until February 2016, when there are three on the docket.
One pending debate that has yet to find a date — or official media sponsors — is a “Conservative Media Debate.” The GOP has been insistent that it include more conservative media in its debate process than it did last cycle, which party leaders criticized as too packed and uneven.
