21ST CENTURY CAMPAIGNING: Trump’s aversion to data puts RNC on the hot seat.

The RNC says it is ready for the challenge, having spent millions of dollars after Mitt Romney’s 2012 defeat to build a data and digital infrastructure able to compete with Democrats.

“We’re building an operation that’s scalable and workable for all candidates,” said Katie Walsh, the RNC’s chief of staff.

But some question whether it will be possible for the RNC to completely pick up the slack if Trump decides to outsource the work of building a high-tech campaign apparatus, which performs countless tests to optimize a campaign’s resources.

“There’s no way to do that through a party structure,” said Chris Wilson, who directed data operations for Sen. Ted Cruz’s (Texas) Republican primary campaign.

In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Trump called data “overrated” and said he plans to rely mostly on rallies and media interviews to propel his campaign. He cited President Obama as an example, even though his 2012 campaign was famously obsessed with data and spent millions using it.

If Big Data can propel a weak candidate with an aversion to truthfulness like Hillary Clinton to victory, then it has already become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.