As was widely expected following his resignation as RNC chief counsel, Reince Priebus has announced his intention to seek the RNC chairmanship. “The RNC must be at its best during this next election cycle. There is too much at risk for our Party and, more importantly, for our country. That is why I am running for Chairman,” Priebus wrote in a letter to RNC member obtained by NRO.

Several weeks ago, Priebus, who as chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin presided of the biggest blue-to-red shift of any state during the midterms, told NRO that he was less than thrilled when Gentry Collins, the former RNC political director who is also running for chairman, publicly lambasted Steele’s job performance in a four-page resignation letter.

Priebus was a one-time close ally of Steele’s and had initially been hesitant to challenge his former boss. However, Priebus made pretty clear in his letter (without mentioning Steele directly) that he believes the RNC is currently on the wrong track and promised, among other things, to bring “less drama” to the committee:

I will run a tight ship at the RNC. 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.
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For me, being State Chairman isn’t a title – it’s a mission. As Chairman of the RNC, I will assume that same laser focus. Less drama, more hard work, more results and more focus on winning.

In an accompanying video, Priebus was even more direct, saying: “I don’t believe we can win the presidency without a highly functioning RNC, and unfortunately we don’t have that today.”

Steele, who faces growing opposition, has yet to indicate whether he will seek reelection.