Humility was a key selling point for Mr. Priebus as he embarked on a two-month campaign to overthrow Michael Steele, the controversial party chairman, and begin the challenging task of rebuilding a committee that is more than $21 million in debt and competing for relevance in an age when the political establishment is no longer the most popular place to be…

“We need a lot of money,” Mr. Priebus said, setting a goal of raising $400 million in two years. “We need a chairman that’s going to put his head down and spend literally five, six hours every day making major donor calls, major donor visits, literally working like an absolute dog for the next two years getting our fiscal house in order.”…

He said he had no intention of serving as the party’s leading voice, a duty, he said, better left to the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, or the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.