Beyond his performance as a party spokesman, Steele will be judged on his handling of the day-to-day duties of running the national party headquarters in Washington.
His responsibilities will include improving the party's technological base, a traditional Republican advantage that Obama and the Democrats have surpassed. He will also oversee a fundraising operation that was the lone bright spot for Republicans last year, when Democrats raised more money overall.
Some who opposed Steele in the chairman's race questioned whether he had the competence to manage a large operation on a day-to-day basis. They criticized his leadership of GOPAC, a Republican training organization that supports candidates in state contests, which he headed for the past two years.
Karl Rove, who supported Mike Duncan's unsuccessful bid for another term as chairman, took what was widely interpreted as a knock at Steele when he wrote that GOPAC needed to be "revitalized or its original mission taken up by a fresh group."
GOPAC answered by arguing that, under Steele, the group raised $8 million and gave more contributions to Republican candidates than at any time in its history. However, most of the money went for fundraising, while payments to consultants increased.
His RNC campaign was run by some of the party's best strategists, many of whom stand to benefit from his election. In apparent response to criticism of those consultant ties, Steele promised to create an ethics panel to oversee the granting of party contracts.
On a more personal level, his victory is a turning point in the 50-year-old Marylander's life. Past chairmen, particularly those who took over when the party was down and helped it bounce back, have been rewarded with Cabinet appointments.
Steele has the advantage of being the only fresh national Republican voice in Washington after voters demanded change, since Republican lawmakers chose to re-elect their House and Senate leaders. He also is more prominent than recent RNC chairmen because there's no longer a Republican in the White House.
"I've got a lot of work to do," said Steele. "We're going to have good relations in places we haven't had before, and it'll be interesting to see how it comes out.
"So, check us out in two years, and see how I've done."
