Just a day after Republicans suffered major losses for a second day in a row, South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson is making his most overt moves toward a campaign for the top slot at the national committee. Dawson yesterday mailed an eight-page survey to all 168 members of the Republican National Committee in which he asks for feedback about how the committee can better operate.

The survey covers everything from the effectiveness of the national committee's vaunted 72-hour program to the new and emerging technologies the party might use. Under Dawson's slogan, "Renew, Reform, Restore," RNC members are also asked to rate the relationship between the national party and its staff and state parties.

"Let's be honest and say it together: last night was a rough night for Republicans. Democrats now have the White House and a commanding majority in the House and the Senate," Dawson wrote in a letter to fellow RNC members.

"After every election, it is important that we learn from the results and make necessary changes. And sometimes that requires that we look in the mirror and ask some tough questions," Dawson's letter reads. "[M]ay I humbly propose that to find the answers, we should not look toward Washington pundits and poll-driven analyses, but rather, we need to hear from activists like you who were on the ground and saw what happened."

Fed-Exed to national committee members, Dawson writes the survey's results will be shared with attendees at his "Reform Renew Restore Conference," which will be held in Myrtle Beach next weekend. An invite to the conference was also included in the packet.

Dawson is considered one of the front-runners for the RNC chair position, along with several other state party chairs and assorted Republican activists, including current chairman Mike Duncan, who is seeking another term.