Editing Clayton Yeutter (section)

===Republican National Committee Chairman===
In January 1991 Yeutter took the place of [[Lee Atwater]] as [[Republican National Committee#Chairmen and Chairwomen of the Republican National Committee|Chairman]] of the [[Republican National Committee]]. Yeutter was elected after George H. W. Bush's first choice for chairman, [[William Bennett]], revoked his initial acceptance of the position due to a potential conflict of interest. The protracted and turbulent process of finding a successor to Atwater was used by Democrats to characterize the Republican party as a fractured organization.<ref>{{cite news|last=Toner|first=Robin|title=On 2d Try, Bush Is Likely to Pick Agriculture Chief to Head G.O.P|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/05/us/on-2d-try-bush-is-likely-to-pick-agriculture-chief-to-head-gop.html?scp=31&sq=clayton+yeutter&st=nyt|access-date=May 1, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 5, 1991}}</ref> Yeutter's "substantive" leadership style and belief that "good guys finished first, not last," created doubt among some members of the Republican party who preferred Atwater's more hard-edge political style.<ref>{{cite news|last=Toner|first=Robin|title=Yeutter Steps In and Atwater Gets a New Post|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/26/us/yeutter-steps-in-and-atwater-gets-a-new-post.html?scp=8&sq=clayton+yeutter&st=nyt|access-date=May 1, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 26, 1991}}</ref>

Atwater's illness prevented the Committee from functioning normally. Before Yeutter was selected, fundraising had dropped off substantially and about 25% of staff had been laid off. Once he was elected, Yeutter focused on stabilizing the level of fundraising and winning the nationwide [[Redistricting|redistricting battles]] during 1991.