After being elected chairman of the RNC on Jan. 30, 2009 in the sixth round of voting, Michael Steele found himself caught in a succession of controversies. Gaffes, questions about cronyism and spending, and a lack of confidence among major donors contributed to periodic calls for his resignation. [Upon arriving at the RNC Steele let go many long-time staffers. His book "Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda" was a surprise to Republican leaders. GOP wins in the 2009 gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and the Jan. 19, 2010 Massachusetts U.S. Senate special election quieted some critics, but a February 2010 expenditure of nearly $2,000 at Voyeur West Hollywood proved particularly embarrassing, and led to a number of resignations from the RNC. In July 2010 Steele's comment about Afghanistan being "Obama's war" and charges about the party's debt prompted further uproar. Also in July, RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen charged that Steele was concealing debt]. With the 2010 mid-term elections fast approaching Steele kept his job, but some donors turned their focus to the other party committees or outside groups such as American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS. The Senate and House committees were both led by Texans, Sen. John Cornyn at the NRSC and Rep. Pete Sessions at the NRCC. (Also note Majority Trust 2010). Gov. Haley Barbour (MS) took over at the RGA following Mark Sanford's resignation from the position in June 2009.

At the DNC Gov. Tim Kaine, named as chairman by Obama in Jan. 2009, finished his term as governor of Virginia in Jan. 2010. Following Scott Brown (R)'s win in the Jan. 19, 2010 U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, President Obama put his 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe in an advisory role coordinating House, Senate and gubernatorial campaign efforts, based primarily out of the DNC. Additionally at the White House, Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and Political Director Patrick Gaspard oversaw political operations day to day. One new project at the DNC since the 2008 campaign was Organizing for America, established to continue reaching out to and mobilizing Obama supporters. This entailed a major investment of resources totaling more than 300 staff nationwide by Election Day; it was quite Obama-centric. Organizing for America differed significantly from the 50-State project, which former Gov. Howard Dean had instituted at the DNC; that project had provided resources for state parties to bring on additional staff. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD) led the DCCC for a second cycle, while Sen. Bob Menendez (NJ) succeeded Sen. Chuck Shumer (NY) at the DSCC, and Gov. Jack Markell (DE) headed the DGA.

Finances:
2010 Post-Election Report (through 11/22/2010)

RNC: $101.6 million in receipts, $110.0 million in disbursements, debt of $15.0 million, and cash on hand of $1.9 million.	DNC: $138.0 million in receipts, $136.9 million in disbursements, debt of $15.5 million, and cash on hand of $9.7 million.
NRCC: $95.7 million in receipts, $93.7 million in disbursements, debt of $12.0 million, and cash on hand of $4.6 million.	DCCC: $106.6 million in receipts, $120.2 million in disbursements, debt of $19.4 million, and cash on hand of $3.1 million.
NRSC: $71.1 million in receipts, $78.9 million in disbursements, debt of $6.0 million, and cash on hand of a bit more than $500,000.	DSCC: $83.5 million in receipts, $95.4 million in disbursements, debt of $6.7 million, and cash on hand of a bit more than $700,000.
RGA:	DGA:

2009 Summary

RNC: $91.2 million in receipts, $97.9 million in disbursements, no debt, and cash on hand of $8.4 million.	DNC: $83.8 million in receipts, $80.7 million in disbursements, debt of $4.7 million, and cash on hand of $8.7 million. The party received 1.4 million contributions averaging $55 each, and had 343,000 new contributors.
NRCC: $36.2 million in receipts, $34.4 million in disbursements, no debt, and cash on hand of $2.7 million.	DCCC: $55.6 million in receipts, $39.4 million in disbursements, a $2 million loan, and $16.7 million in cash on hand.
NRSC: $41.2 million in receipts, $33.7 million in disbursements, no debt, and $8.3 million in cash on hand.	DSCC: $43.6 million in receipts, $31.2 million in disbursements, debt of $1.2 million, and cash on hand of $12.6 million.
RGA (press release): raised $30 million total in 2009, more than $25 million in cash on hand.	DGA (press release): raised $23.1 million in 2009, $17.5 million on hand.