# Mike Duncan (politician)

Robert Michael Duncan (born 1951) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2009. Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of a variety of public- and private-sector organizations. Duncan was chairman, president, and CEO of Inez Deposit Bank in Inez, Kentucky, which merged with First State Bank in February 2021. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service and previously served as its chairman.

## Early life and career

Duncan was born in Oneida, Tennessee. He is active in numerous professional and nonprofit organizations. He served as chairman of a state university and serves as chairman of the board of trustees at Alice Lloyd College, a private four-year liberal arts college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky. He has served as chairman for the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky, a $30 million state-of-the-art regional center emphasizing telecommunications, training, and development. President George W. Bush appointed him to the President's Commission on White House Fellows in 2001.

## Career
### Chairman of the Republican National Committee

A lifelong Republican, Duncan was a delegate to the 1972, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Republican National Conventions and is one of the few persons ever to serve on the four standing convention committees. Duncan served as treasurer and general counsel of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from July 10, 2002, until his election as chairman. In January 2007, he was elected Chairman of the RNC, replacing Ken Mehlman, and served until January 30, 2009, when he withdrew from renomination to the chairmanship.

#### RNC re-election bid
##### RNC chairman vote

Source: CQPolitics, and Poll Pundit
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 |
| Michael Steele | 46 | 48 | 51 | 60 | 79 | 91 |
| Katon Dawson | 28 | 29 | 34 | 62 | 69 | 77 |
| Saul Anuzis | 22 | 24 | 24 | 31 | 20 | Withdrew |
| Ken Blackwell | 20 | 19 | 15 | 15 | Withdrew | |
| Mike Duncan | 52 | 48 | 44 | Withdrew | | |
    Candidate won that Round of voting
    Candidate withdrew
    Candidate won RNC Chairmanship

### Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority

President George W. Bush nominated him to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board; he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in March 2006. He was subsequently elected to serve as the 15th chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority in May 2009 and served until May 2010, when he was replaced by banker Dennis C. Bottorff.

### Governor of the United States Postal Service

On September 13, 2018, he became a member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service. On December 5, 2019, he was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve another full term ending in December 2025.
Duncan was involved in the selection of Louis DeJoy as U.S. postmaster general amid the 2020 presidential election. DeJoy did not go through the normal vetting process for postmaster general; two separate search firms were used by the USPS board, and neither firm mentioned DeJoy in their list of candidates. After DeJoy's appointment, postal service leadership implemented measures that led to delays in mail delivery and raised concerns about voting-by-mail in the 2020 election amid the coronavirus pandemic.

### Senate Leadership Fund

Duncan is on the board of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is a super PAC tied to Mitch McConnell.

### Other roles

Duncan also served as director of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank Cincinnati Branch. From 1989 to 1991, during a sabbatical, he worked in the Bush White House as assistant director of Public Liaison. He also served in the Bush administration as a member of the President's Commission on White House Fellows starting in 2001.

### Education

Duncan holds degrees from the University of the Cumberlands and the University of Kentucky College of Law.

## Personal life

Duncan and his wife, Joanne, are 1974 graduates of the University of Kentucky College of Law. Duncan received his undergraduate degree from Cumberland College (now the University of the Cumberlands). They reside in Inez in Martin County in eastern Kentucky. They have one child, Rob, an assistant United States attorney in Lexington, Kentucky, who is married to Valerie Ridder, originally from Springfield, Missouri. The Duncans are the principal owners of two community banks with five offices in eastern Kentucky. His son, Robert M. Duncan Jr., has been United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2017.
On September 10, 2012, Duncan became the new president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).