WASHINGTON — The race to head the Republican National Party may come down to who has the most Facebook friends, who can lure elusive young voters and, yes, which candidate owns the most guns.

"Seven," said former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell Monday, answering the last question at a debate of the five contenders for the top RNC job Monday, Jan. 5. "And I'm good."

In a wide-ranging hour-and-a-half debate that featured questions on favorite Republican presidents — Ronald Reagan was the unanimous choice — and whether the candidates used the social networking texting service known as Twitter, Blackwell offered himself up as an "authentic" conservative who would emphasize grassroots if elected.

Blackwell, who lost a 2006 bid for Ohio governor to Ted Strickland, also presented himself as a candidate who can reverse the GOP's losing streak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know how to win elections," he told a packed room full of RNC members. "I've won 13 out of 17 times my name has been on the ballot."

Like other candidates, he described the role as one aimed at communicating the Republican message more effectively and reaching out to new voters, including Latinos and blacks. Blackwell and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, both candidates for the RNC job, are African-American.

The group also emphasized technology, with Blackwell repeatedly emphasizing that he has 4,000 Facebook friends. Still, he said, it was on-the-ground contact that mattered most.

Blackwell is one of a crowded field of candidates; also running are Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, Katon Dawson, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, current RNC chair Mike Duncan of Kentucky, John "Chip" Saltsman of Tennesee and Steele.

Saltsman's bid has attracted the most attention, though some of it was unwanted. He caused a firestorm when he distributed a CD with the parody song "Barack the Magic Negro" sung to a popular folk song.

The election will be held during a RNC meeting in Washington, D.C., Jan. 28 through Jan. 31.

The debate was organized by Americans for Tax Reform.