McDaniel Loses Republican Support Ahead of Vote for RNC Chair

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks during a press conference alongside White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Trump Campaign General Counsel Matt Morgan at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov. 9, 2020. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Key Republicans are rescinding support for Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel ahead of a vote that could see McDaniel replaced.

Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Eric Underwood announced on Dec. 12 that he was no longer supporting McDaniel in her bid for a fourth term.

“At this time, I rescind my endorsement of Chairwoman McDaniel,” Underwood said in a statement.

Underwood said that he would ask the Nebraska GOP’s Central Committee for their position on the upcoming vote and would support whichever candidate the committee chooses.

The equivalent committee in Texas voted over the weekend to approve a resolution stating Republicans have lost confidence in McDaniel.

The resolution notes that under McDaniel, Republicans lost control of both the House of Representatives and Senate. Further, in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans failed to flip the Senate and only gained a small majority in the lower chamber.

“The grassroots have lost faith in Chairman [sic] McDaniel and the RNC and believes the Party needs new leadership that will address deficiencies in fundraising, messaging, GOTV, and election integrity and put the party in closer alignment with its grassroots supporters and voters,” the resolution stated.

The resolution called for the Texas RNC members who are voting in the RNC leadership election to not vote for McDaniel. No specific alternative was named.

Attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell are challenging McDaniel.

The Republican Party of Arizona, meanwhile, called on McDaniel to step down in order for “fresh and bold leadership” to assume control of the RNC.

McDaniel and the RNC did not respond to a request for comment.

‘Voters Want Change’

Two voting members in Tennessee, Beth Campbell and Oscar Brock, said they received a message while meeting with fellow Republicans in the state.

“There is overwhelming support for Leadership change on the RNC,” Campbell said.

“My voters want change,” she also said.

Campbell separately boosted several of Dhillon’s proposals, including initiating a review of every contract the RNC has.

Several Republicans have pledged support for Dhillon, whose law firm does business for the RNC.

Morton Blackwell, a voting member in Virginia, said he'd be voting for Dhillon.

“She has a long and successful record as a leader for conservative principles at the state and national levels,” Blackwell said in a statement. “She has used her talent and genius to go on offense against far-left progressives and in support of free speech in academia, online, and free and fair elections.”

Jay Shepard, a voting member in Vermont, said he would also be supporting Dhillon in the upcoming vote, which will take place in January 2023.

McDaniel’s Support

McDaniel circulated a letter in November that showed she had the support of enough members to win the election before it took place.

The letter included the names of 101 of the 168 RNC voting members.

None of those members have appeared to back away from their endorsements as of yet.

But Bill Palatucci, an RNC committeeman in New Jersey, said that the actual votes could diverge from the endorsements.

“RNC members are experts at looking you in the eye and saying, ‘Oh I am with you’ and in a secret ballot going into the voting booth and slitting your throat,” Palatucci told The Washington Times. “So I take all that stuff with a grain of salt.”

Emma Vaughn, a spokesperson for McDaniel, told news outlets that McDaniel’s decision to run for another term was “member driven.”

“Members of the 168 rallied around the chairwoman because of her unprecedented investments in the grassroots, election integrity, and minority communities, and for taking on Big Tech and the biased Commission on Presidential Debates,” Vaughn said, adding that support for McDaniel “has only grown since her announcement and she looks forward to speaking with each and every member to discuss how the party can continue building upon our investments and make the necessary improvements to compete and win in 2024.”

Challengers

Dhillon announced her bid earlier in December, saying that “we really need to radically reshape our leadership in order to win.”

“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,” Dhillon added.

Lindell, meanwhile, said he was running because the RNC’s strategy “has been a disaster not only for the Party but even more importantly it has been disaster for the Country as Democrats pursue their woke socialist agenda.”

“This is a critical time for the RNC. The Donors need a return on their investment and so does the country. I have done my due diligence and can’t figure out why my opponent would even consider running again,” Lindell said.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), floated by some as an alternative to McDaniel, opted against running but urged McDaniel to step down.