Mike Duncan
Encyclopedia
Robert M. "Mike" Duncan (born 1951 in Oneida
, Tennessee
) was the 60th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
. He was elected in January 2007, replacing Ken Mehlman
, and served until January 30, 2009, when he withdrew from renomination to the chairmanship. He became the chairman of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority
effective May 18, 2009.
__ToC__
, a private four-year liberal arts college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky
. He has served as Chairman for the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky
, a $30 million state-of-the-art regional center emphasizing telecommunications, training, and development. President George W. Bush
appointed him to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows in 2001. Duncan is a trustee of the Christian Appalachian Project
, the fifteenth largest private social services agency in America. Duncan is a former chairman and current director of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program. His student-mentoring program, in its 26th year, was featured on CBS News Sunday Morning
and in the Los Angeles Times
.
Professionally, Duncan was President of the Kentucky Bankers Association and a Director of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank
Cincinnati Branch. In 1989-91, during a sabbatical, he worked in the Bush White House as Assistant Director of Public Liaison. President George W. Bush appointed him to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows in 2001 and nominated him to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board, a position to which he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in March 2006. His public service has been recognized with several distinctions including honorary degrees from Cumberland College
and the College of the Ozarks
.
Duncan has been equally active in his home state of Kentucky, where he helped in the successful campaign to win back Kentucky’s statehouse for the first time in 36 years. In 1998 he took a leave of absence from his business and chaired Jim Bunning’s successful U.S. Senate race. In addition Duncan is a long-time supporter and fundraiser for Senator Mitch McConnell.
He served as General Counsel of the Republican National Committee
(RNC) from July 10, 2002 until his election as Chairman. He previously was elected Treasurer of the RNC in January 2001. Duncan, in his third term as National Committeeman from Kentucky, has served the party at every level from precinct captain, county chairman, state chairman, and national officer. He has been a delegate to the 1972, 1976, 1992, 1996, and 2000 Republican National Convention
s and is one of the few persons ever to serve on the four standing convention committees. He was also elected to serve as the 15th Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority
in May of 2009 and served until May of 2010. Mike Duncan and his wife Joanne are 1974 graduates of the University of Kentucky College of Law
. Duncan received his undergraduate degree from Cumberland College
. They live in Inez, Kentucky
, and have one child, Rob, an Assistant United States Attorney in Lexington, Kentucky, who is married to Valerie Ridder of Springfield, Missouri. The Duncans are the principal owners of two community banks with five offices in eastern Kentucky.
Duncan ran for reelection in the 2009 RNC Chairmanship Election, but dropped out after the third round of balloting when elections were held on January 30, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Michael S. Steele
was later that day elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Source: CQPolitics, and Poll Pundit
Oneida, Tennessee
Oneida is a town in Scott County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,615 at the 2000 census.Oneida is known for its proximity to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
) was the 60th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
. He was elected in January 2007, replacing Ken Mehlman
Ken Mehlman
Kenneth Brian Mehlman is an American businessman, attorney, and political figure who served as the campaign manager for the 2004 re-election campaign of George W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007. In 2007, President Bush appointed Mehlman to the U.S...
, and served until January 30, 2009, when he withdrew from renomination to the chairmanship. He became the chairman of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
effective May 18, 2009.
__ToC__
Career
Duncan is active in numerous professional and nonprofit organizations. He served as chairman of a state university and currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees at Alice Lloyd CollegeAlice Lloyd College
Alice Lloyd College is a four-year liberal arts work college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky. It was co-founded by the journalist Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd, a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts and June Buchanan, a native of New York City, in 1923, at first under the name of Caney Junior College, as an...
, a private four-year liberal arts college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky
Pippa Passes, Kentucky
In the census of 2000, there were 297 people, 48 households, and 30 families in the city. The population density was 557.3 per square mile . There were 50 housing units at an average density of 93.8 per square mile...
. He has served as Chairman for the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky
Somerset, Kentucky
The major demographic differences between the city and the micropolitan area relate to income, housing composition and age. The micropolitan area, as compared to the incorporated city, is more suburban in flavor and has a significantly younger housing stock, a higher income, and contains most of...
, a $30 million state-of-the-art regional center emphasizing telecommunications, training, and development. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed him to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows in 2001. Duncan is a trustee of the Christian Appalachian Project
Christian Appalachian Project
The Christian Appalachian Project is an interdenominational, non-profit Christian organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia by providing physical, spiritual and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services....
, the fifteenth largest private social services agency in America. Duncan is a former chairman and current director of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program. His student-mentoring program, in its 26th year, was featured on CBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning
CBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original host Charles Kuralt. The program has aired continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m...
and in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
Professionally, Duncan was President of the Kentucky Bankers Association and a Director of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank
Federal Reserve Bank
The twelve Federal Reserve Banks form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The twelve federal reserve banks together divide the nation into twelve Federal Reserve Districts, the twelve banking districts created by the Federal Reserve Act of...
Cincinnati Branch. In 1989-91, during a sabbatical, he worked in the Bush White House as Assistant Director of Public Liaison. President George W. Bush appointed him to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows in 2001 and nominated him to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board, a position to which he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in March 2006. His public service has been recognized with several distinctions including honorary degrees from Cumberland College
University of the Cumberlands
University of the Cumberlands is a private, liberal arts college located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, with an enrollment of approximately 3,200 students...
and the College of the Ozarks
College of the Ozarks
College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian liberal-arts college, with its campus at Point Lookout near Branson and Hollister, Missouri, United States. It is south of Springfield on a campus, overlooking Lake Taneycomo...
.
Duncan has been equally active in his home state of Kentucky, where he helped in the successful campaign to win back Kentucky’s statehouse for the first time in 36 years. In 1998 he took a leave of absence from his business and chaired Jim Bunning’s successful U.S. Senate race. In addition Duncan is a long-time supporter and fundraiser for Senator Mitch McConnell.
He served as General Counsel of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
(RNC) from July 10, 2002 until his election as Chairman. He previously was elected Treasurer of the RNC in January 2001. Duncan, in his third term as National Committeeman from Kentucky, has served the party at every level from precinct captain, county chairman, state chairman, and national officer. He has been a delegate to the 1972, 1976, 1992, 1996, and 2000 Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
s and is one of the few persons ever to serve on the four standing convention committees. He was also elected to serve as the 15th Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
in May of 2009 and served until May of 2010. Mike Duncan and his wife Joanne are 1974 graduates of the University of Kentucky College of Law
University of Kentucky College of Law
The College of Law is a college of the University of Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania University in 1799, the law program at UK began operations in 1908; it was one of the nation's first public law schools...
. Duncan received his undergraduate degree from Cumberland College
University of the Cumberlands
University of the Cumberlands is a private, liberal arts college located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, with an enrollment of approximately 3,200 students...
. They live in Inez, Kentucky
Inez, Kentucky
There were 212 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone...
, and have one child, Rob, an Assistant United States Attorney in Lexington, Kentucky, who is married to Valerie Ridder of Springfield, Missouri. The Duncans are the principal owners of two community banks with five offices in eastern Kentucky.
Duncan ran for reelection in the 2009 RNC Chairmanship Election, but dropped out after the third round of balloting when elections were held on January 30, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Michael S. Steele
Michael S. Steele
Michael Stephen Steele is an American politician who served as the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee from January 2009 until January 2011. From 2003 to 2007, he was the seventh Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, the first African American elected to statewide...
was later that day elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
RNC Re-election bid
RNC Chairman VoteSource: CQPolitics, and Poll Pundit
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Steele | 46 | 48 | 51 | 60 | 79 | 91 |
| Katon Dawson Katon Dawson Katon Edwards Dawson is an American politician from the state of South Carolina, former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and was a 2009 candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Early life:... |
28 | 29 | 34 | 62 | 69 | 77 |
| Saul Anuzis Saul Anuzis Saulius "Saul" Anuzis is a Republican Party leader from the U.S. State of Michigan, he is currently serving as national chairman for the Save American Jobs Project on the American Solutions team... |
22 | 24 | 24 | 31 | 20 | Withdrew |
| Ken Blackwell Ken Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell... |
20 | 19 | 15 | 15 | Withdrew | |
| Mike Duncan | 52 | 48 | 44 | Withdrew | ||
- Candidate won that Round of voting
- Candidate withdrew
- Candidate won RNC Chairmanship