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Dawson was elected Richland County GOP vice chairman in 1994 and state party chair 2002.[1]
In 2006, despite nationwide losses by the Republican party, the South Carolina GOP carried eight of nine statewide constitutional offices.[2]
In August 2007 Dawson drew national attention for his decision to move the 2008 South Carolina Republican presidential primary from Feb. 2 to January 29, preserving the state's "first in the South" primary. In every election since 1980, the winner of the South Carolina primary has won the Republican presidential nomination, except in 2012 when Newt Gingrich won the primary and did not secure the nomination.[3]
During Dawson's chairmanship, the South Carolina GOP has made progress with outreach to African-Americans and in promoting minorities to leadership positions,[4][5] electing its first African-American member of the Republican National Committee from the South,[6] and in 2008 the first black Republican State Representative since Reconstruction was elected.[7]
Dawson expressed his interest in chairing the Republican National Committee in October 2007 when reports confirmed Senator Mel Martinez would be stepping down,[9] but did not actively campaign[10] until he announced his official bid on November 24, 2008 for the 2009 RNC Chairmanship Election.[11] Dawson was one of two candidates to earn votes on each of the six votes taken; he lost the final ballot to winnerMichael Steele, 91-77.[12] It was reported that in September 2008 Dawson resigned his membership in the Forest Lake Club, a whites-only country club located in Columbia, South Carolina, amid controversy.[13] A 2017 Guardian article, though, states "It was later discovered that he had remained a member the whole time."[14]
