Despite the many failures of the GOP as a national party under her watch, particularly in 2022 when bad candidates, bad spending plans, and particularly poor messaging turned what should have been a red wave into a pink puddle, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel is attempting to run again and hold onto her leadership position.
Her decision to do so came back in November of 2022, shortly after the midterms disaster, with Politico reporting at the time that:
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel signaled on Monday that she plans to run for reelection as party chair, which would set her up to lead the RNC through the 2024 presidential election.
The announcement came on a Monday call with RNC members, following a disappointing midterm election for Republicans, who had hoped to win control of both chambers of Congress but are instead caught in a post-election blame game.
Unfortunately for McDaniel and fortunately for the GOP base, that reelection bid doesn’t seem to be going great. The Arkansas GOP, for example, recently threw its support behind McDaniel’s competitor, Harmeet Dhillon, arguing in its press statement that McDaniel and the RNC had not effectively supported GOP candidates in the 2022 midterms.
Responding to the news with a quote tweet, Townhall’s Kurt Schlicter said “The tide is overwhelming against failed @GOPChairwoman Ronna McDaniel. I am privy to the whip count. She does not have the votes. It’s time to make a dignified withdrawal.”
Mike Lindell is also running for the RNC chair position, trying to use it to push the party in a more America First, populist direction.
McDaniel has responded to those challengers and criticisms by pointing to a letter in which a number of big-name GOP donors backed her, saying:
Under Ronna’s unwavering leadership, the RNC has made consistent, critical contributions to
the Republican ecosystem. In addition to fulfilling her current term promise of flipping the House
and retiring Nancy Pelosi:
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– The RNC’s assistance to the state and local ground game helped drive 4 million more
Republican than Democrat voters to the polls.
– In all but one of the battleground states, Republicans won at the statewide level.
Republicans swept statewide offices, including Supreme Court seats, in key states
including Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Nevada and Ohio.
– The RNC’s voter registration efforts paid off. Within two years, Republicans either closed
the voter registration gap or widened our lead in the crucial states of Florida, Nevada,
Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Iowa.
– The RNC’s investment in opening 38 community centers played a significant role in
growing our voting base. In Florida, with Senator Rubio and Governor DeSantis at the
top of the ticket, a majority of Hispanics voted Republican for the first time.
– Ronna launched an Election Integrity program at the start of 2021 and led the fight
against Democrat Party attempts to undermine election laws. The RNC participated in
over 80 lawsuits in 20 battleground states and helped to activate tens of thousands of
poll watchers and poll workers in key precincts across the country.
– The RNC is taking on Big Tech by suing Google for suppressing our ability to
communicate with our grassroots.
– Ronna boldly cut ties with the Commission on Presidential Debates to ensure fair
debates in our upcoming Primary with honest media partners.
– We are proud of these accomplishments and grateful for the committee’s efforts that
made them possible.
Dhillon has trotted out the support of large donors as well. They said, in a letter “We are calling on members of the RNC to thank Ronna McDaniel for her service and to support the only RNC member seeking to succeed her, Harmeet Dhillon – a bold visionary with the energy and experience to retool the party for success in 2024 and beyond.”
Featured image By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Ronna McDaniel, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73643288