Incumbent Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel fended off two challengers on Friday to win re-election and the right to lead the party going into the 2024 election. She faced off against attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell at a posh resort in Dana Point, Calif. In the end, the vote wasn’t even close: McDaniel claimed 111 of the 166 votes. McDaniel, who was selected in 2017 by Donald Trump to lead the party, will serve her fourth two-year term.
Mike Lindell, 4, Harmeet 51, Ronna 111 votes
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) January 27, 2023
RNC races tend to be insider games, with establishment types presiding, but Dhillon, who campaigned on the party needing a shake-up, gave McDaniel a run for her money, pointing out the party’s lackluster results in the last three election cycles and complaining about profligate spending at the RNC.
Related: McDaniel Refuses to Face RNC Chair Challengers Lindell, Dhillon in Debate
McDaniel, the niece of moderate Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), will continue to lead a party that’s fractured and could very well be heading to another contentious primary, depending on who, in addition to Donald Trump, decides to run for president. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is thought to be a contender, along with a few other Republican luminaries, including former Vice President Mike Pence. DeSantis on Thursday seemed to throw his support behind Dhillon, saying that the party needed “new blood.” Trump, for his part, congratulated McDaniel on Truth social shortly after the votes were tabulated:
Election integrity hasn’t been a particular interest area for the RNC over the last several years, but perhaps the challenges from Dhillon and Lindell have lit a fire under McDaniel. We’ll see.
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