Five Republicans have already declared their intention to take Michael Steele's job. Steele stuns by running for reelection

Despite facing intense criticism from within his own party, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Monday night he would mount a campaign for another two-year term atop the GOP.

Steele, breaking a monthlong silence about his intentions, acknowledged that he had “stumbled along the way” during the conference call with members of the RNC's 168-member governing board.


But in a defense of his tenure that stretched for 30 minutes before he announced his plans, Steele touted the party’s gains over the past two years in making a robust case for why he deserved to be elected to a second term when the party meets next month.

According to sources on the call, the embattled chairman talked at length about why the party had gone into a debt of at least $15 million and even why they had spent money on races in the territories.

“[Critics] are talking a lot of trash about fundraising and talking a lot of smack about major donors,” Steele noted before pointing out that the committee had raised more this cycle than what the DNC did when they captured Congress in 2006.

He also sought to rebut those who’ve raised questions about transparency during his tenure, saying: “I’ve never tried to hide the ball from the members."

Yet, even as he made his case, Steele acknowledged that the party needed to raise more money and vowed to improve the RNC’s fund-raising going into the 2012 elections.

He took a similarly humble approach in a prepared, four-page message to members that went out immediately after he declared his intentions.

"I come to my bosses with a record that only you can judge, based upon directions you made clear to me from the very beginning,” Steele said in the message. “Yes, I have stumbled along the way, but have always accounted to you for such shortcomings. No excuses. No lies. No hidden agenda.”

Steele’s decision to go forward with a run comes after five Republicans have already declared their intention to take his job, two of whom worked with Steele at the committee.

Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus was an early backer of the incumbent and served as the RNC’s general counsel. Gentry Collins was, until last month, the committee’s political director. Both are running, as are Michigan GOP committeeman Saul Anuzis, Wisconsin former RNC co-chairwoman Ann Wagner of Missouri, and Maria Cino, a longtime party operative.

More broadly, Steele’s decision to run represents a direct rebuke to the party’s establishment wing, many members of which have gone public since Election Day with their concerns about the state of the RNC under the former Maryland lieutenant governor. Figures such as Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have indicated that they preferred a different chairman. Bush administration figures such as Vice President Dick Cheney and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie have already lined up behind Maria Cino, a longtime GOP operative.

But as Steele, who was elected in January 2009, drew louder and louder criticism during his gaffe-plagued tenure from top Republicans he increasingly evinced little concern about such assessments.

He also turned inward and in the days before announcing his decision only sought the counsel of a small circle of advisers he’s know dating back to his days in Maryland politics, said a well-placed GOP source.

Following his announcement Monday, some of his critics expressed exasperation at what will, at the very least, complicate the chairmanship race of a party that traditionally favors order and detests messy internal battles.

“Defying all logic, sensibility [and] political acuteness, Steele has decided to run!” wrote Massachusetts GOP committeeman Ron Kaufman in a blast e-mail.

Wagner, in a statement, called on the committee to “immediately freeze” any new spending, hires or appointments until the election next month — a clear attempt to stop Steele from cutting any deals to win votes.

While Steele’s base has been diminished in recent weeks amid a torrent of bad news about his tenure atop the committee, the chairman still has the backing of about 30 or so members, insiders say.

But his challenge will be in building on that base. It’s difficult to see what would prompt an RNC member who has already soured on Steele to return to his fold, given the array of alternatives in the contest.

Steele faces an even more difficult version of the challenge that former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan confronted in his reelection bid two years ago: While starting with a core of support — at least for a multi-candidate field — Steele will have difficulty adding to his base in a race that is certain to include multiple ballots.

But he plainly intends on waging an aggressive race. In addition to sending his own letter, Steele had a close ally on the committee, Idaho GOP Chairman Norm Semanko, also blast out a letter making the case for the incumbent.

“Together, we can prove the pundits and the naysayers wrong — again,” Semanko wrote, after highlighting the GOP’s wins under Steele and playing to conservative committee members by pinning some of the chairman’s difficulties on “the liberal media.”

But it’s not just Steele’s backers on the committee who are happy about his decision.

After Fox News broke the news Monday afternoon that Steele was running, Democrats were gleeful that, for a few weeks at least, the controversial chairman would remain in the fray.

“Finally some good news: Steele will seek a second term as RNC Chair!,” tweeted Democratic strategist Karen Finney.

Steele appeared to package the news with Fox, where he previously worked as a paid contributor. The cable channel, a favorite among Republicans, first reported Sunday that he was not going to run before indicating on Monday that Steele would, in fact, get in the race. Minutes later, Greta Van Susteren tweeted that the chairman would appear on her show following his conference call with committee members.

Van Susteren aggressively questioned Steele on the state of the committee's finances, getting the chairman to concede that the party had far less money on hand than when he took over the committee two years ago.

While the RNC's most recent fundraising report indicated that they had had just under $2 million on hand and debt of over $15 million, Steele said on the show that they had about $3.5 million to $4 million in the bank and made no mention of the debt.

Asked why he was receiving so much criticism, Steele explained it was because his style was different.

"I"m much more of a street guy," he said.

Steele's decision to run means that former Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota won't get in the race. Coleman was eyeing the contest, but said he wouldn't run if Steele sought reelection.

Less certain are the plans of Duncan.

Duncan, who lost his reelection bid to Steele two years ago, unexpectedly showed up at a candidate forum earlier this month but has told associates that he primarily wants to ensure that the incumbent doesn’t win another term. The Kentuckian remains popular with many committee members and may get in the race if it seemed like the "Stop Steele" effort has flagged.

What's more likely is that Duncan stays out of the contest and works to strike an agreement among the candidates already in the race that would ultimately ensure Steele's defeat. A source familiar with Duncan's thinking said the former chairman was already in individual contact with each of the challengers and encouraging them to form a united front. If they stick together and keep their supporters away from Steele after the first rounds of balloting, the thinking goes, there is no path to victory for the incumbent.