Embattled Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele will participate in the Jan. 3rd debate for RNC chair, the Web site The Daily Caller reports. (The Daily Caller is co-sponsoring the debate with fiscal conservative Grover Norquist's group Americans for Tax Reform and the anti-abortion-rights group Susan B. Anthony List.)

VIDEO: NBC's Domenico Montanaro reports on the RNC Chair race and that Chairman Steele will participate:

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Steele suprised the political world when he announced he would seek reelection. And he lost a key backer yesterday, when California committeeman Shawn Steel defected.

Steele is also facing an Anybody but Steele campaign. Committee members are pushing a "No Deal with Steele Pledge," hoping to force the other candidates not to cut a deal with Steele that could keep him in the job.

Few believe Steele will be able to corral the 85 votes of the 168 committee members to win reelection.

Five others are running for the post, including Wisconsin GOP chair and former RNC general counsel Reince Priebus, a former staunch Steele ally; Saul Anuzis, a Michigan committeeman; former RNC political director Gentry Collins, who penned a damning letter which many think severely damaged Steele's chances at reelection; Maria Cino, a former Bush administration official; and Ann Wagner, a former Missouri party chairwoman.

Steele's participation means the forum at the National Press Club will be quite the spectacle, exactly what party committee members hoped to avoid.

This morning, I was on with MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell on The Daily Rundown, and we talked about the RNC Chair race. What do you think are Michael Steele's chances, and who do you think will be the next chairman? Take our poll at right.

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"In the face of overwhelming criticism about his stewardship of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, the party chairman, declared Monday evening that he had no intentions of quietly stepping aside and vowed to seek re-election to lead the party into the 2012 presidential campaign," the New York Times' Zeleny writes. "Mr. Steele made the announcement in a conference call with members of the Republican committee, some of whom have already pledged their support to one of the half-dozen candidates vying to replace him. He did not take questions in the 40-minute call or address many of the challenges facing his candidacy, including the financial management of the committee that is ending the year $15 million in debt."

Politico’s Martin: “[I]n 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.” More: “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.”

The New York Daily News: “Republicans aren't quite done with their gaffe-prone party chairman Michael Steele yet.”

Wrestling mogul and failed U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon will meet with NRSC Chair John Cornyn, per Roll Call. The time and date is unclear at this point. “I don’t know what her message is going to be, but I sort of suspect she isn’t finished,” Cornyn said.

Here's a stunner: Citing two RNC committee sources, Fox reports Michael Steele will announce tonight he IS running.

From the story:

Steele is said to be amused by false reports of his retirement and intentionally kept his plans secret for the last month in order to flush out competitors for the post, Fox has learned.

Few committee members believe Steele has enough votes to win. He needs 85 votes of the 168 committee members. The vote takes place at the RNC's Winter Meeting in Washington Jan. 13-15.

This hardly means anything is assured. Politico reported this morning, citing "key supporters" and Steele's lack of a campaign infrastructure, that Steele was unlikely to run.

From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
This evening, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is expected to hold a conference call with RNC members to discuss whether he'll seek a second term. The smart money -- because he has disappeared from the public view as other Republicans have lined up to replace him -- and because he hasn't assembled a campaign team -- is that Steele won't run.

Despite the GOP's political success in the 2009-2010 cycle, Steele's numerous critics charged that he failed at the two biggest responsibilties for a party chairman: money and message.

The money criticism was summed up by his former political director, Gentry Collins, who is now running to replace Steele as RNC chairman. “In the previous two non-presidential cycles, the RNC carried over $4.8 million and $3.1 million respectively in cash reserve balances into the presidential cycles,” Collins said. “In stark contrast, we enter the 2012 presidential cycle with 100% of the RNC’s $15 million in lines of credit tapped out, and unpaid bills likely to add millions to that debt.” You can add stories like the RNC's $2,000 expenditure at a sex-themed nightclub to that complaint.

As for message, Steele's gaffes were legion. In fact, here's what we consider to be his Top 10 gaffes/statements that got him into trouble -- with the press and his own party.

1. Channeling Cindy Sheehan
"This is a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in. ... if he is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Alright, because everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed."

Then his backtrack...

“As we have learned throughout history, winning a war in Afghanistan is a difficult task. We must also remember that after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, it is also a necessary one. That is why I supported the decision to increase our troop force and, like the entire United States Senate, I support General Petraeus’ confirmation. The stakes are too high for us to accept anything but success in Afghanistan.”

2. Playing the race card
In response to a question from ABC whether he has a slimmer margin of error because he's black, Steele responded, "The honest answer is, 'yes.' Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It's a different role for me to play and others to play and that's just the reality of it. But you take that as part of the nature of it. My view on politics is much more grassroots oriented, it's not old boy network oriented, so I tend to, you know, come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more street-wise, if you will. That's rubbed some feathers the wrong way.” (ABC’S GOOD MORNING AMERICA, April 5, 2010)

Also:

"I don't see stories about internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation. Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?" (WASHINGTONIAN)

3. Doubting that the GOP is ready to lead
STEELE: I think overall -- given what we know so far and what this administration's proclivities are -- we're going to see, I think, nice pick-ups in the House. I think we're gonna see...
HANNITY: [interrupting] ... woah, more specific.
STEELE: Well, I can't give a number yet, because like I said, we're just now beginning to look at the races, and we have races...
HANNITY: [interrupting] Do you think you can take-over the House? Do you think Republicans...
STEELE: [interrupting] ... not this year, and Sean, I'll say...
HANNITY: [interrupting] ... you don't think so?
STEELE: Well, I don't know yet, because I don't know all the candidates yet. We still have some vacancies that need to get filled, but then the question we need to ask ourselves is: if we do that, are we ready?
HANNITY: Are you? …
STEELE: I don't know. And that's what I'm assessing and evaluating right now. Those candidates who are looking to run have to be anchored in these principles.... because if they don't, then they'll get to Washington, and they'll start drinking that Potomac River water, and they'll get drunk with power and throw the steps out the window. (FOX, Jan. 5, 2010)

4. Calling abortion an individual choice
In an interview withGQ: “I think that's an individual choice... The states should make that choice.”

5. Calling Rush Limbaugh "incendiary" and "ugly"
“His whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it's incendiary, yes, it's ugly.”

6. Comparing himself to Obama
STEELE (on CNN): “What would I be jealous of?”
CNN’s Don Lemon: "He's the president of the United States.”
STEELE: “I'm chairman of the RNC, so what's your point?"

7. Maintaining government has never created one job
“Not in the history of mankind has the government ever created a job.” (CNN, Feb. 3, 2009)

8. Saying that the earth is cooling, not warming
“We're cooling, we're not warming. Greenland, which is covered in ice, it was once called Greenland for a reason, right? OK? Iceland, which is now green. Ah, I love this, I love it. Like we know what this planet is all about. How long have we been here? How long? Not very long.” (BILL BENNETT RADIO SHOW, March 6, 2009)

9. Stating Pelosi will sit "in the back of the bus"
Rallying the GOP to win in November and urging supporters to "get on the bus," Steele capped off his call to action by predicting that "Nancy Pelosi will be in the back of the bus." (Aug. 6, 2010)

10. Rationalizing his gaffes
“I'm a cause-and-effect kind of guy. So if I do something there's a reason for it -- even it may look like a mistake, a gaffe, there's a rationale, there's a logic behind it. ... I wanna see what the landscape is, I wanna see who yells the loudest. I wanna know who's says they're with me but really isn't. ... It helps me understand my position on the chess board. It helps me understand where the enemy camp is. And where those who are inside the tent are. It's all strategic.” (CNN, March 25, 2009)

Also:

"Folks make mistakes. Lord knows I'm familiar with foot in mouth disease." (MEET THE PRESS, Oct. 24, 2010)

And then there was this about his critics: “I tell them to get a life. That's old Washington, that's the old ways, and I don’t represent that and it kills them. There are some within the party that are still mad that I'm chairman... here comes this 6-foot-4 bald guy bringing hip hop to the RNC... town halls at Howard University and Harlem. ... They hate it, and it's sad. I've had enough of it. If you don't want me in the job, fire me. But until then, shut up. Get with the program or get out of the way.”

Here are some other best-ofs:

On expanding the party:
He told the Washington Times that the party should take its message to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" and even, “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.” He said the party’s message will be “off the hook” and that the party isn’t going to be cutting edge, instead, "We're going beyond cutting edge."

“You wear you're hat one way, you know, you wear it kind of cocked to the left, because you know, that's cool out West. In the Midwest, you know, you guys like to wear it a little bit to the right. In the South, you wear the brim straight ahead. Now, the North east, you know, I wear my hat backwards, you know, because that's how we roll in the Northeast. It's a very... One thing you have to recognize, we are all wearing the hat that says GOP.” (MORNING JOE, April 30, 2009)

On stimulus:
Called it "Democrats’ effort to get a little bling, bling." (POLITICO, Feb. 9, 2009)

On empathy and the Supreme Court:
"Crazy nonsense empathetic! I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness!" (GUEST HOSTING BILL BENNETT’S RADIO SHOW)

Norm Coleman would like to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee now that it is becoming clearer Michael Steele probably will not seek another term, but it's not a done deal, according to a source close to the former Minnesota senator.

"He wants to run," the source said, "but is getting more support outside the RNC than inside. If he gets significant signs of inside support he'll run."

As we noted in First Thoughts: Right now, here’s your field: Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis, former Bush administration official Maria Cino, Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, former RNC political director Gentry Collins, and former Missouri GOP chair Ann Wagner. Then again, as some Republicans have pointed out, didn't the 2010 cycle prove that the RNC is irrelevant?

Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus made it official today and is getting into the race for RNC chairman.

Priebus, who served as this RNC's general counsel until this past weekend, was close to Steele and helped elect him in 2009.

Here's his five-and-a-half-minute announcement video:

The video touts Republicans' gains in Wisconsin, including winner the governorship, a U.S. Senate seat, two House seats, the state Assembly and Senate.

Very hopeful-sounding piano music plays in the background while others, including Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), speak glowingly of Priebus.

"This is your victory," Ryan says in the video, adding, "Thank you for making this possible."

Priebus, who appears later in the video, notes, with perhaps a veiled shot at current RNC Chairman Michael Steele, "We all stayed on message....," he says of candidates and officials in Wisconsin.

Laying out his reasons for running, he says, "Our country is in a time of great peril" and that this election "really is the most important election" because "real damage" is being doing by President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress.

"I don't believe we can win the presidency without a highly functioning RNC," Priebus says, "and unfortunately, we don't have that today."

He adds, "If you're looking for someone with an inflated ego, and thinks they know it all, that isn't me."

(Hat tip: Jonathan Martin via Ben Smith.)

“Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee's top legal counsel, resigned his position early Sunday morning, The Hotline has learned, a move that will be widely interpreted as a major step toward running for chairman of the organization and a big blow to current chairman Michael Steele. Priebus, the chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, was once Steele's closest ally on the committee. Priebus pushed to elect Steele in 2009, and in the two years since has served as Steele's conduit with committee members.”

Money talks. And candidates for chairman of the Republican National Committee sure talked a lot about it at a forum for the job.

“We have to reestablish the confidence of high-dollar donors,” said Ann Wagner, a former Missouri GOP chairwoman and ambassador to Luxembourg, at a forum sponsored by Freedom Works, a group integral in the Tea Party, and the Republican National Conservative Caucus. She's one of two officially declared candidates for RNC chair. "It's money first, it's money second, and it's money third," she said later.

The RNC “fell short” and “didn’t raise enough money” to support local parties and candidates, said Saul Anuzis, an RNC committeeman from Michigan and the other officially declared candidate. Anuzis added that the Republican Governors Association and third-party groups, like American Crossroads, “stepped in” and filled the gaps created by the Michael Steele-led RNC.

“We have to have a chairman who is laser-focused on raising the money necessary,” said Gentry Collins, who is exploring a bid. Collins is the former political director of this RNC and, on his way out, issued a scathing letter criticizing Steele’s management and leadership. Some saw it as the political nail in the coffin for Steele’s tenure at the committee.

Collins vowed to raise between $400 million and $425 million, the amount he said would be necessary to defeat Barack Obama for president in 2012. “We didn’t have the resources to deploy that ground game,” Collins said of this RNC. “I came prepared to do that.”

“Money is the mother’s milk of politics,” said Mike Duncan, the former RNC chairman and surprise panelist at today’s forum. How much of a surprise? His name was written in marker on his name tag on the panelists' table; the others’ were typed. “There isn’t too much money in politics. There isn’t enough money.”

Duncan said he is thinking about a bid, but hasn’t officially declared. Wagner, Anuzis, Collins, and Duncan -- who were framed on the panel by the Gadsden and American flags -- were the only four of the potential candidates who showed up to the forum, which was attended by about 100 to 150 people, about 30 of whom were members of the media. Organizers expected Connecticut party Chairman Chris Healy as well as former Bush administration official Maria Cino to be at the forum as well, but neither showed. Both have indicated an interest in a bid, as have a handful of others.

Steele, though, was the elephant -- so to speak -- in the room. Steele did not attend the forum, was not expected to, and he hasn’t indicated if he will run for reelection. If he announces he won’t run, that could open the door to others like former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN). Coleman said he would not run if Steele seeks reelection.

The candidates avoided direct attacks on Steele for the most part. The first time his name was brought up came during the ninth question of the forum -- from a Twitter follower, who asked how Steele is vulnerable.

For the most part, the candidates used it as an opportunity to make the case for their own candidacies.

“It takes a woman to answer a tough question,” Wagner quipped, as she answered first at the unanimous urging of her colleagues. She reiterated that she would raise the money necessary and added that the RNC needs good management and “ethical” leadership.

Collins called Steele a “fine man” and a “good man,” but that the party under his leadership “didn’t raise the money required.” Collins also touted his own behind-the-scenes experience, saying the most successful RNC chairmen come from “professional political backgrounds,” not necessarily candidates for public office.

Duncan agreed that raising $400 million or more was necessary, and he noted, “I have the record.”

Anuzis, who admitted to Tweeting and doing Facebook posts during the panel, said this race isn’t about Steele, it’s about a different approach. “This isn’t about firing someone,” Anuzis said.

In a brief interview with First Read afterward, Anuzis shook his head when asked if Steele could get enough votes to win. “There’s a growing consensus for change,” he said. “It’s going to happen.”

The open question, though, is who will be the consensus candidate to become the next chairman. And that wasn’t settled today.