Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will retain her position for a fourth term after defeating her two challengers in the party’s Jan. 27 election.
Of the RNC’s 168 voting members, McDaniel garnered the support of 111, beating out California attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who received 51 votes and four votes, respectively. Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who wasn’t a contender, received one vote.
The final vote reveals an uptick in support for the incumbent chairwoman since November 2022, when she circulated a letter of support signed by 101 committee members. With this win, McDaniel now becomes the longest-serving RNC chair since the Civil War.
“Mike and Harmeet ... thank you for the race you ran, for the leaders you are in our party, we are so grateful for you,” McDaniel said after being announced the winner on the final day of the RNC’s winter meeting held at a beach resort in Dana Point, California.
A Contentious Race
Though McDaniel will undoubtedly seek to unify the party heading into the 2024 presidential election, the divisions exposed by the bitter campaign are unlikely to be forgotten soon.Dhillon and Lindell both entered the race promising change, though it was Dhillon who ended up posing the largest threat to McDaniel in her bid for reelection.
“I’m afraid that the base of our party is not getting what it needs from our leadership,” she said.
The attorney and founder of the Center for American Liberty gained the support of 29 committee members and state chairs, but in the process, she also took some arrows.
“This is not only religious bigotry but also racism,” Yue wrote in a Dec. 31 tweet. “Harmeet is a legal immigrant like me from Asia. I’m calling my fellow RNC members to reject both.”
Moving Forward
As part of the unification process, McDaniel may seek to implement some of her challengers’ ideas going forward.One potential focus could be increased adaptation to changing technologies and trends—an area both Dhillon and Lindell have pinpointed for improvement.
The attorney noted that, at the age of 54, she’s one of the RNC’s youngest committee members—a fact she would like to change.
“The traditional base of the Republican party is aging out,” she said, adding that she “would love to see” more young, experienced members on the committee.
“I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of D.C.,” he said. “Why would you want to have your headquarters in the most Democrat city in America? It’s more Democrat than San Francisco is!”
Lindell, meanwhile, vowed to forgo a salary if he won the election, though that concept is less likely to be adopted by McDaniel going forward.