Rasmussen Poll: Republicans Want Mike Lindell for RNC Chair — Certainly Not Ronna McDaniel

Fewer than one in five Republican voters want Ronna McDaniel to be Republican National Committee (RNC) chair again, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, and of the three candidates — McDaniel, attorney Harmeet Dhillon, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — Lindell surpassed Dhillon by a 10-point margin. Republican voters want radical change in their party, and this poll shows that they want an outsider with a track record of defying the establishment to enact that change.

Rasmussen found in its survey of Republican voters that 30% support Mike Lindell for RNC chair, 20% support Harmeet Dhillon, and only 15% support Ronna McDaniel. There is definitely indecision among Republicans too, though, because 15% don’t support any of the three candidates and 21% are undecided. Perhaps that’s due to not paying attention to the race or perhaps to Republicans’ lack of confidence in their own party, which was likely heightened by the failed “red wave” of 2022. Rasmussen said only 20% of all likely U.S. voters think the Republican Party has been “more effective” in the past few years, while 40% say the Democrats were more effective. Only 43% of Republican voters think their party was more effective in electing candidates.

But that does not translate into support for another term for RNC chair, as only 15% want McDaniel to be chair again. Interestingly, when polling all likely voters, including Democrats and independents, Rasmussen said 19% want Dhillon to be RNC chair, while 18% want Lindell, and 12% support McDaniel. Among self-described conservative Republicans, 52% do not want McDaniel to be reelected, while Dhillon and Lindell get 26% each of those voters’ support. One message is very clear—Republicans don’t want McDaniel.

So why was Lindell more popular among Republicans overall? Does Lindell simply have more name recognition? Or perhaps voters see him as having a proven track record? Lindell has been de-banked, censored, de-platformed, and personally targeted by the FBI, and his business has been restricted. He has spent large amounts of his own money trying to prove voter fraud in court, including recently funding Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election challenge, and he has stuck to his guns no matter how much hatred he gets. Voters might understandably see that as an encouraging prognostication of Lindell’s actions as RNC chair.

Furthermore, Lindell has made more of an effort to appeal to voters. The Rasmussen poll was conducted Jan. 23-25, and on Jan. 25 Lindell particularly demonstrated that effort. That day, public debate for RNC chair was scheduled to avoid any conflicts, but McDaniel still refused to come. Dhillon, after initially committing to the debate, backed out on the grounds that McDaniel would not be present, according to debate organizer John Fredericks. This is especially strange considering that Dhillon called for a debate to appeal to grassroots voters multiple times. Lindell was the only RNC chair candidate who came to the debate, as Dhillon chose instead to send a deputy.

The reasonable interpretation of that is that Dhillon cares more about arguing publicly with McDaniel than for appealing to voters, perhaps because voters cannot directly elect the RNC chair. Whether you love or hate Mike Lindell, whether you agree or disagree with his beliefs, he was the only candidate who went out of his way to appeal to voters and show an interest in their opinions.

That was consistent with Dhillon’s and Lindell’s behavior at AmericaFest in Phoenix in December, where Dhillon delivered a speech onstage while Lindell spent a whole day before and after his speech meeting and talking with attendees. With the relative disaster of the 2022 election so recent, it seems voters are looking for leadership that they see as outside the establishment and interested in their opinions. Republicans see both Dhillon and Lindell — though particularly Lindell — as offering that option.

It is interesting that, despite their support for Dhillon and Lindell, 43% of Republicans have a favorable view of incumbent McDaniel, while 35% have an unfavorable view. Voters under 40 are more likely to support McDaniel, Rasmussen said. And 55% of voters “who Strongly Disapprove of President Joe Biden’s job performance oppose McDaniel’s reelection,” with 28% supporting Lindell and 27% supporting Dhillon.

A Trafalgar poll recently found that 86% of Republicans preferred Harmeet Dhillon as RNC chair to Ronna McDaniel, but Lindell was not named as an option in the survey. Outlets have continually reported on the race as if Lindell were not in it, naming only Dhillon and McDaniel (unlike PJ Media, which has covered all the candidates). Whomever you support, I think we can agree that’s deceptive reporting — and the 30% of GOP voters, almost a third, who support Lindell would agree. In fact, in light of the near-blackout on Lindell’s race, it’s interesting that Lindell still won more GOP support than the two highly publicized candidates, Dhillon and McDaniel.

With the vote for RNC chair happening tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if RNC committeemen vote out McDaniel as their voter base wants or whether they vote to continue McDaniel’s corruption and incompetence.