Trump is far and away the leading candidate for the Republican nomination. But now he was hit with something straight out of left field.
Because he was handed a massive game-changer from the RNC that no one saw coming.
Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, stated on Monday that she will stand down early next month due to rising criticism of her leadership.
McDaniel, 50, announced in a statement that she will stand down on March 8, three days after the Super Tuesday primaries, in which Republican voters in 16 delegate-rich states and territories will vote on their party’s presidential nominee.
Separately, RNC Co-Chair Drew McKissick announced his resignation, which would take effect simultaneously with McDaniel’s.
“I’m honored to have had the privilege to serve as RNC Co-Chair for this past year, as well as to have worked with so many grassroots leaders to help make our party successful. It’s what drives me,” McKissick said. “And of course being willing to put self aside for the sake of building a team and focusing on winning is a big part of being successful.”
McDaniel’s statement followed weeks of speculation and came a week after former President Donald Trump, the party’s clear front-runner for the 2024 candidacy and a previous ardent ally of McDaniel, hinted it was time for change at the RNC.
McDaniel said it had been “the honor and privilege of my life to serve the Republican National Committee for seven years as chairwoman to elect Republicans and grow our party” — with the first in a list of her proudest accomplishments being “firing Nancy Pelosi” following the 2022 midterms.
“I have decided to step aside at our spring training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a chair of their choosing,” she went on to say.
“The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition,” she went on to say.
Trump, 77, personally endorsed McDaniel, the niece of two-time Republican presidential candidate and Utah senator Mitt Romney, to lead the Republican National Committee after his historic 2016 election.
However, criticism of her handling of the party’s finances and unsuccessful grassroots efforts to engage voters has increased in recent years, particularly after Republicans lost Senate seats and governorships in 2022.
At the same time, the RNC had only $8 million in cash on hand as of December 31, the lowest since the end of 2014, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
In contrast, the Trump campaign closed out 2023 with $42 million in cash on hand.
The former president intimated last Monday that McDaniel should go after the RNC disclosed decade-low fundraising numbers for the presidential election year.
“I think she knows that, I think she understands that,” Trump said during a Newsmax interview when asked whether McDaniel should resign after three consecutive election cycles of Republican underperformance.
Trump also suggested in a Truth Social post that he’ll be “making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth,” referring to McDaniel as a “friend” and praising her work in Michigan during his 2016 election triumph over Hillary Clinton.
He has said he thinks “she did great when she ran Michigan for me” and “she did OK initially in the RNC.”
But Trump also said, “I would say right now there’ll probably be some changes made,” he told Fox News earlier this month.
The RNC’s bylaws necessitate that a new leader be elected.
It is thought that Trump will support North Carolina Republican Party chairman Michael Whatley as McDaniel’s replacement.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
