Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who nearly won his bid for governor in a deep blue state, announced Dec. 7 that he will not seek the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) top position.
Zeldin has been hearing from Republicans across the country who want him to challenge RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel but said that McDaniel’s bid for reelection appears to be successful even before votes are cast.
“Change is desperately needed, and there are many leaders, myself included, ready and willing to step up to ensure our party retools and transforms as critical elections fast approach, namely the 2024 Presidential and Congressional races,” Zeldin said in a statement. “However, the issue is Chairwoman McDaniel’s re-election appears to already be pre-baked, as if the disappointing results of every election during her tenure, including yesterday in Georgia, do not and should not even matter.”
McDaniel has released a list of endorsements for her re-election bid. It has endorsements from 101 members. That’s enough votes to secure another term.
Republicans hoped to flip both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterms but only gained a majority in the House.
The party actually lost a seat in the Senate and failed to flip any seats in the upper chamber. Republican candidate Herschel Walker lost to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in the runoff election on Tuesday.
Zeldin said Republicans need to communicate their ideas better, including ways to improve education and preserve freedom. He also said grassroots Republicans are frustrated by “coming up short” and that the best way to move forward is with new leadership.
“Republican voters already believe that Washington, D.C. is an irredeemable swamp. They will be proven right, yet again, if Chairwoman McDaniel moves forward with running for a fourth term, despite her prior pledge not to do so,” Zeldin said.
“The better path forward would be for Chairwoman McDaniel to listen to and respect the wishes of the actual grassroots voters of our party, and allow the RNC to forge ahead with new leadership. Her greatest service to the Republican Party at this time would be to make room for a new chair.”
McDaniel, who has been chair of the RNC since 2017, did not respond to a request for comment. She has not responded to Zeldin yet.
Challenger
Harmeet Dhillon, whose firm represents the RNC and other Republicans, announced this week she will challenge McDaniel.“I am going to run for RNC chair. And the reason is that, to play off of a famous catchphrase, Republicans are tired of losing, and I think that we really need to radically reshape our leadership in order to win. And we can’t keep running elections like we did in the 90s and the 2000s,” Dhillon, who also advised former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, said on Fox News.
“We really have to modernize to compete with the Democrats dollar-for-dollar—in the ways they fundraise, the way they deliver their ballots to the ballot boxes. Our messaging needs to be fresh and positive and not just reactive to news cycles and what the Democrats are doing,” she added.
McDaniel recently tapped Dhillon and Henry Barbour, a Mississippi RNC committee member, to review the 2022 election and lead an effort preparing for the 2024 election.
“Henry Barbour and I will be soliciting input from ALL Republicans, not just DC elites,” Dhillon said in a statement.
Lindell
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a strong backer of Trump, is also in the running.Some Republican groups, including National Renewal, have also voiced approval of a change in leadership.
Zeldin
Zeldin, the top of the ticket in New York, drew more votes than expected and helped power Republicans to the House majority.Zeldin earned 2.7 million votes, about 300,000 less than Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Republicans flipped multiple House seats, with many Republicans crediting Zeldin with the strong turnout.
The GOP also held all their seats, including in a tight race in the state’s 22nd Congressional districts.
