The Republican National Committee on Friday reelected Ronna McDaniel to lead the GOP’s operations through the next presidential election and the congressional elections in 2024.
Ronna McDaniel, running for her fourth term, was challenged by Trump lawyer Harmeet Dhillon and Trump ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Voting took place in Dana Point, Calif., where the national party is holding its winter meetings.
States cast their votes in alphabetical order by state, and also by secret ballot. The winner needed at least 85 votes to clinch the election. The tally announced at the end showed McDaniel won the three-way race with 111 votes to Dhillon’s 51. Lindell received four votes.
McDaniel, the niece of GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, has been the head of the RNC since 2017.
Alex Brandon / AP
But GOP losses in 2018, 2020 and 2022 prompted frustration within the party, with some suggesting it was time for change at the top.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on the race on the eve of the RNC election, suggesting he favored Dhillon. “We’ve had three substandard election cycles in a row, ’18, ’20, and ’22, and I’d say ’22 was the worst. … I think we need a change,” DeSantis said. “I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC. I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said.”
In a statement after her loss, Dhillon said the RNC “will be better for the tough conversations that were desperately needed about how to reform the RNC to win elections and earn the trust of our voters, activists, and donors.”
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