Ray Washburne at Highland Park Village, which he bought in 2009 for $170 million. (staff/file)
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WASHINGTON ? Republicans have tapped Dallas investor Ray Washburne as their new national finance chairman ? a critical role as the party seeks to dust itself off from the drubbing of 2012.
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus announced the selection today.
?What we?re working on right now is rebuilding the party?s infrastructure for the next couple of years, which we need, frankly,? Washburne said by phone Wednesday afternoon. ?We were lacking a lot of things that the Democrats had us on. We realize that.?
Priebus lauded his experience at political fund-raising and as president and CEO of Charter Holdings, a Dallas-based private investment firm. ?That experience will be an invaluable asset as the RNC begins investing in a permanent infrastructure across the country including ground game, engagement in key communities, data and technology,? he said.
?Who knows four years from now what that kind of thing?s going to look like,? Washburne said. ?Four years ago it was totally different and the Obama people showed us different ways it can be done.?
GOP leaders credit the outgoing finance chairman, Ron Weiser, with erasing a $24 million debt and raising record sums for the 2012 campaign.
That?s a high bar for Washburne, a longtime GOP fund-raiser who attained ?Ranger? and ?Pioneer? status as a top donation bundler for President George W. Bush.
During the 2012 campaign, he served as national finance co-chairman for the ill-fated bid of Tim Pawlenty, and later joined Mitt Romney?s campaign as Texas finance co-chairman. He also has served as the top money guy at the Dallas County GOP.
?I?m not a tea partier,? he said, when asked how he plans to navigate the various factions of the Republican Party. ?I?m an entrepreneur and business owner and employer and want less regulation, and all those things, but having to put a tag on it ? I don?t know about that?.My role is to be a fund-raiser for the party and to reach out to all the constituents of the party and raise money to build infrastructure. ?
He?ll serve a 2-year term once confirmed by the Republican National Committee, and expects to spend two or three days every couple of weeks in Washington, and plenty of time traveling the country.
He?s coy about how much he hopes to raise.
?All I can and if you want to send a check, we?ll take it,? he said, laughing.
Washburne doesn?t see a party in distress. He noted that party leaders awarded Priebus another term overwhelmingly, and that brings a much-needed stability.
?The challenge that I see is a very doable one. Obama?s crew had four years to build their infrastructure. Mitt had about 82 days from Tampa to the election. The RNC spent the previous two years just paying off their debt,? he said.
Washburne is a 1984 graduate of Southern Methodist University. He is chairman and CEO of Charter Holdings, He is a co-founder and co-owner of M Crowd Restaurant Group, which owns the chain of Mi Cocina and Taco Diner restaurants. (This may explain the Mi Cocina opening in Washington, D.C., in a few months.)
And he is the managing partner of the Highland Park Village, billed as America?s first planned shopping center.
As Alan Peppard has reported, the 6-foot-5 Washburne started buying and selling real estate at age 19. And he?s related by marriage to the Hunt family; wife Heather is a granddaughter of Margaret Hill Hunt and great-granddaughter of the legendary H.L. Hunt.
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