Katon Dawson

Katon Edwards Dawson (born February 29, 1956) is an American politician from the state of South Carolina, former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party[1] and was a 2009 candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Katon Dawson
Chairperson of the South Carolina Republican Party
In office
May 2002 – May 2009
Preceded byHenry McMaster
Succeeded byKaren Floyd
Personal details
Born (1956-02-29) February 29, 1956
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of South Carolina, Columbia

Early life

Dawson was born in Columbia, South Carolina in then-heavily Democratic South Carolina, his parents helped organize the state's first GOP precincts. Dawson says his political interest came from attending a Barry Goldwater speech in 1964, and first volunteered for Richard Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign.[1]

Dawson graduated from the University of South Carolina.

Political career

Dawson was elected Richland County GOP vice chairman in 1994 and state party chair 2002.[1]

In 2006, despite nationwide losses by the Republican party, the South Carolina GOP carried eight of nine statewide constitutional offices.[2]

In August 2007 Dawson drew national attention for his decision to move the 2008 South Carolina Republican presidential primary from Feb. 2 to January 29, preserving the state's "first in the South" primary. In every election since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has won the Republican presidential nomination, except in 2012 when Newt Gingrich won the primary and did not secure the nomination.[3]

During Dawson's chairmanship, the South Carolina GOP has made progress with outreach to African-Americans and in promoting minorities to leadership positions,[4][5] electing its first African-American member of the Republican National Committee from the South,[6] and in 2008 the first black Republican State Representative since Reconstruction was elected.[7]

Dawson became the first state Republican chair to endorse the "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." campaign launched by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's organization American Solutions.[8]

Dawson expressed his interest in chairing the Republican National Committee in October 2007 when reports confirmed Senator Mel Martinez would be stepping down,[9] but did not actively campaign[10] until he announced his official bid on November 24, 2008 for the 2009 RNC Chairmanship Election.[11] Dawson was one of two candidates to earn votes on each of the six votes taken; he lost the final ballot to winner Michael Steele, 91-77.[12] It was reported that in September of 2008 Dawson resigned his membership in the Forest Lake Club, a whites-only country club located in Columbia, South Carolina, amid controversy. [13][14] A 2017 Guardian article, though, states "It was later discovered that he had remained a member the whole time." [15]

RNC Chairman Vote

Source: CQPolitics,[16] and Poll Pundit [17]

Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6
Michael Steele 46 48 51 60 79 91
Katon Dawson 28 29 34 62 69 77
Saul Anuzis 22 24 24 31 20 Withdrew
Ken Blackwell 20 19 15 15 Withdrew
Mike Duncan 52 48 44 Withdrew
  Candidate won that Round of voting
  Candidate withdrew
  Candidate won RNC Chairmanship

Personal life

Dawson lives with his wife Candy in Columbia, S.C. They have two children, Anna and Katon Jr.[1]

See also

References
  1. Adcox, Seanna (August 12, 2007), GOP chairman relishes putting state in limelight], Associated Press, archived from the original on February 19, 2012, retrieved February 17, 2017
  2. Goldsmith, Brian S.C. GOP Chair Says Electability is Key, CBS News, January 18, 2008.
  3. Preston, Mark South Carolina GOP moves up primary, adds to 2008 scramble, CNN.com, August 9, 2007.
  4. Smith, Gina. Black Republicans forging new paths in S. Carolina Archived 2009-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, The State, October 13, 2008.
  5. McPike, Erin. Alexander Urges Republicans To Keep After Black Votes, Congress Daily, November 21, 2008.
  6. Gizzi, John. Party Time Archived 2009-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Human Events, June 30, 2008.
  7. Wilson, Reid. They've Got Game Archived 2009-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Campaigns and Elections' Politics Magazine, August 31, 2008.
  8. Slade, David. GOP head backs oil drilling Archived 2008-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, Charleston Post and Courier, July 10, 2008.
  9. McPike, Erin. SC's Dawson Eyes RNC Post Archived 2008-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, The Hotline, October 3, 2007.
  10. Cillizza, Chris. The Race Within the Republican Race Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, The Fix, washingtonpost.com, January 14, 2008.
  11. Mark Murray. Dawson officially enters RNC race , MSNBC, November 24, 2008
  12. Burns, Alexander. Steele: 'How do you like me now?' Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine, Politico, January 30, 2009
  13. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/us/politics/31repubs.html
  14. https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article9025742.html
  15. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/25/henry-mcmaster-south-carolina-governor-golf-club-white
  16. CQ Politics (January 30, 2009). "Republican Choose Michael Steele as Party Chairman". Archived from the original on February 3, 2009.
  17. PollPundit.com (January 30, 2009). "RNC Chairman Vote: Live Coverage". Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Henry McMaster		 Chairperson of the South Carolina Republican Party
2002–2009		 Succeeded by
Karen Floyd
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