2. Michael Steele: This Georgetown law grad was not only the first African American to hold statewide office in Maryland (lieutenant governor), but he also attended seminary at Villanova. But, it’s his uber-smarts that propelled him to head the GOP and lead it to one of its biggest country-wide election wins (2009) in the nation’s history. Now, without the confines and treachery of running the GOP machinery, look for more centrist views from Steele that more resemble a Rockefeller Republican than a pseudo-conservative, religious ideologue.
