David Keene, the longtime chairman of the American Conservative Union, stepped down on Wednesday as the leader of the organization, one day ahead of the first of its annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Keene had chaired the organization since 1984 and will still preside over the annual conservative gathering. His impending exit had been anticipated, but not the timing.
Al Cardenas was selected to succeed Keene. Cardenas was born in Cuba in 1948, and has been a player in conservative politics since the Reagan presidency.
“I look forward to taking advantage of the new energies we see today in the conservative movement to make this storied organization even more influential in the future” said Cardenas in a press release.