Following the 1978 elections, Delaware Governor Pete du Pont surveyed what was, from a Republican perspective, a bleak electoral landscape. A Democrat held the White House. Both houses of Congress were rock-solid Democrat, as they had been for more than a generation. Republican governors led just 12 states. Barely a quarter of state legislative bodies were in GOP control.

Du Pont fervently believed that as the party of lower taxes, limited government and strong national defense, Republicans constituted a natural majority. However, the party's electoral prospects were constrained by inexperienced candidates who offered muddled messages. By contrast, as the party in power at most levels of government during the post-war era, the Democrats had a healthy roster of tested candidates always eager to climb the next rung on the political ladder. Du Pont concluded that the Republican Party had to build a "farm team" if it was ever to become a governing majority party.

He knew that the work of building a Republican political infrastructure capable of winning -- and governing -- across America would take a generation. In 1979, GOPAC went to work.

GOPAC was a new national organization dedicated exclusively to electing Republicans to state and local offices. Within its first decade, it grew to be one of the country's largest and most influential partisan political action committees. The organization concentrated on making direct contributions to promising candidates in competitive state legislative and municipal elections nationwide. In a short period of time, GOPAC helped Republicans make meaningful progress. But more was needed.

With Ronald Reagan, Republicans in the 1980's were blessed with a national leader capable of winning record-setting landslides. But Newt Gingrich was frustrated by the Party's inability to capitalize on the Reagan Revolution at the state and local levels. Taking the helm of GOPAC, Gingrich emphasized spreading ideas and inspiring conservative, reform-minded citizens.

Through countless campaign seminars, workbooks, audiotapes and years of grassroots organizing, GOPAC became the Republican Party's preeminent education and training center. The famous GOPAC tapes, in particular, galvanized Republican candidates and activists.

Many political observers credited GOPAC with being a key catalyst of the Republican Revolution that stormed the nation in 1994, sweeping in the first GOP congress in four decades and leaving a record number of governorships and statehouses in Republican hands.

In the following years, Congressmen John Shadegg and David Dreier as well as Governor Frank Keating have been the stewards of GOPAC as we have began the process of reaching out to those groups not necessarily considered traditional Republicans.

Following in the footsteps of these exceptional public servants, the Honorable Michael S. Steele took over as the Chairman of GOPAC. Steele was Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and Republican nominee for United States Senate in 2006 prior to taking over at GOPAC. He served as GOPAC Chairman from January 2007 – January 2009.