Reince Hercules Priebus Is Reelected Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Setting New Record

Reince Priebus receiving the 2012 Livanos Award in Washington, DC. Pictured with Priebus (L to R) are the Coordinated Effort’s Andy Manatos, Andrew Athens and Philip Christopher

There has been another Herculean accomplishment in Washington, D.C. by the Greek-American Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Reince Hercules Priebus. His recent reelection made him the RNC’s longest-serving chairman in modern history. Some of our country’s greatest statesmen, like former US Senate Majority Leader, Bob Dole, and former US President George H. W. Bush, are among the chairmen whose seniority Priebus recently outdistanced. On January 16, 2015, the election for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee took place in San Diego and he was reelected to a third term on a near-unanimous vote, making him the first Chairman to lead the RNC for three consecutive terms with a Democrat in the White House. Priebus had been praised for his fundraising skills and healing relations with major GOP donors, his ability to maintain “generally warm acceptance” by conservatives and moderates alike, among other accomplishments.

Reince Priebus, Chairman Republican National Committee addressing the PSEKA conference in Washington. PHOTO: DEMETRIOS RHOMPOTIS

On January 14, 2011 he took over an RNC that was $23 million dollars in debt and sinking. He gained significant Washington attention as he reversed the slide, paying off the debt in short order. In the 2014 election cycle, Priebus brought in over $178 million. He has recruited nearly 7,000 precinct captains, has 31 field offices and 131 field staff. He also took the unprecedented step of opening an office in Silicon Valley to facilitate the recruitment of engineering talent, created in the RNC a Chief Digital and a Chief Technology Officer, and targeted for 2014 major advances in the full utilization of the social media. As a result of the 2014 election, the Republican Party regained control of the US Senate for the first time in seven years. He is now focused on the coming election in 2016. He will play a significant role in the Presidential debates, the primaries, and the convention.

Priebus has been a lifelong member of the Greek Orthodox Church. His mother’s maiden name is Pitsiladis and he has spent many summers with his extended family in Greece.

After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he majored in English and Political Science.Priebus graduated cum laude in 1994 and prior to that had been elected to serve as student body presidentand was president of the College Republicans. After graduation from Whitewater, he served as a clerk for the Wisconsin State Assembly Education Committee. He then enrolled at the University of Miami’s School of Law in Coral Gables. In 1998, he graduated with a J.D. degree cum laude after serving as president of the Student Bar Association. He moved back to Wisconsin and became a member of the State Bar, and subsequently joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP a Wisconsin law firm, where he eventually became a partner, practicing in the firm’s government and public policy division.

(L to R) Mr. and Mrs. Reince and Sally Priebus, the American Jewish Committee’s Jason Isaacson, and Mike Manatos

He ran for election to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2004 but lost to the Democratic incumbent, Robert Wirch. In 2007, following a successful campaign, he was elected chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party. He was the youngest person to have held that role. Two years later, in 2009, he also became the general counsel for the Republican National Committee.

A successful chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Reince created the framework that brought about one of the most historic election cycles Wisconsin has ever experienced. During his tenure, Republicans in Wisconsin not only defeated Russ Feingold by electing Ron Johnson to the Senate, but they gained two additional U.S. House seats, won the Governor’s office, took back both the state Assembly and the state Senate while defeating the leaders of both of those chambers.

Reinhold “Reince” Richard Priebus and his wife, Sally, have two young children, Jack and Grace. He was raised by his parents Richard and Dimitra (Roula) Priebus, an electrician and a real estate agent, respectively, in Kenosha Wisconsin.