Michael Steele is the current chairman of the Republican National Committee, the central committee of the Republican Party (United States). An African-American politician from the state of Maryland, he served as lieutenant governor of the state from 2003 to 2007 under Goveror Robert Ehrlich and was an unsuccessful candidate to the U.S. Senate in 2006, losing to Democrat Ben Cardin. In 2009, following the Republican defeat in the 2008 Presidential and Congressional elections, he was selected to be the chairman of RNC, replacing Mike Duncan.