Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Tina Benkiser have joined forces in the race to chair the Republican National Committee, uniting two candidates who were seeking votes from Christian conservative committee members.

Blackwell, who announced his run for the chairmanship in early December, will run as chairman with Benkiser running for co-chairwoman.

“Recognized as a national conservative leader with an amazing record of accomplishment, Ken Blackwell is a dedicated servant-leader,” Benkiser wrote in her own e-mail to committee members. “Whether it is leading the charge on issues or successfully running an effective organization, Ken is what our Party needs at this time. He will establish a clear distinction between the Republican Party and our opposition.”

Blackwell praised Benkiser as “one of the very best state party chairmen in the country” with “the values and principles that we need in party leadership.”

Together, according to a tally kept by The Hill, the two candidates control seven of the 25 Republican National Committee members who have publicly committed to a candidate. There are 168 voting members of the national committee.

The move is hardly a surprise, according to those following the race closely.

“Everyone knew that Tina was going to run for co-chair,” said a staffer for one candidate for the chairmanship.

Interested observers say the pair’s gamble could pay off big, or bust both candidates’ chances. By combining both candidates who appealed most to the hard-right segment of the party, the two will likely consolidate votes that otherwise would have been split between them.

That could hurt a candidate like Chip Saltsman, the former Tennessee Republican Party chairman who managed Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign in 2008. Saltsman had been appealing to voters with Huckabee’s help, though the union between Blackwell and Benkiser could prove more attractive to the most conservative members of the committee.

“They’re outstanding leaders, and I know they’re going to be part of the future of the party,” said Chris Healy, who chairs the Connecticut Republican Party. “However people feel they think they can move voters, it’s a real art form.”

Healy is backing Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis.

But, caution others, Blackwell’s high-profile campaign and collection of outside endorsements could backfire among committee members intent on remaining independent.

Blackwell has recently received high-profile endorsements from the Club for Growth, Gun Owners of America and prominent conservatives like Steve Forbes.

“You have outside groups, none of whom have a vote on the RNC, none of whom have a vote on the RNC budget, telling the RNC members what to do,” said an adviser to another RNC candidate who asked not to be named. “Ken’s playing a P.R. game. Fine, that’s a strategy, but he’s not playing an ‘I’m going to go win the hearts and minds of the 168 [committee members’].”

“The RNC has been a tool of the Bush administration, another outside organization,” the adviser said. “Over and over again, you’ve seen [RNC] members comment about, ‘We need to make the RNC independent from any one person and any one group’.”

"The people that count are the ones on the committee," Healy said.

The move could also irritate some members who hoped to run for co-chair and might otherwise have backed Blackwell or Benkiser. Current co-chairwoman Jo Ann Davidson has not said whether she will run for reelection. The co-chairman is paid the same amount as the RNC chairman.