The Republican National Committee on Friday re-elected Ronna McDaniel to lead the operations of the Republican Party until the upcoming presidential election and congressional elections in 2024.
Ronna McDaniel, who is running for her fourth term, was challenged by Trump attorney Harmeet Dhillon and Trump ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. The vote took place in Dana Point, California, where the national party holds 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 win the election. The tally announced at the end showed that McDaniel won the three-way race with 111 votes to Dhillon’s 51. Lindell received four votes.
McDaniel, the niece of Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, has been the head of the RNC since 2017.
But the GOP’s losses in 2018, 2020 and 2022 raised frustration within the party, with some suggesting it was time for a change at the top.
florida governor ron desantis heavy on the run on the eve of the RNC election, suggesting that he favored Dhillon. “We’ve had three poor election cycles in a row, ’18, ’20 and ’22, and I would say ’22 was the worst… I think we need change,” DeSantis said. “I think we need to get new blood into the RNC. I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said.”
In a statement after his defeat, Dhillon said the RNC “will be better off for the tough, desperately needed talks about how to reform the RNC to win elections and win the trust of our voters, activists and donors.”
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