Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is facing serious pressure to resign amid recent Republican election losses.
Frustrations against McDaniel have grown in the Republican Party, especially in the wake of the 2023 elections, which saw high-profile GOP defeats in Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. Despite this, party insiders told Politico they believe she is unlikely to be ousted before her tenure ends, largely over fears of the chaos such a move would cause at a crucial time.
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“Frankly, I don’t think there’s any way in the world you can get a two-thirds vote to replace her,” Oscar Brock, the GOP national committeeman from Tennessee, told the outlet.
“I think it would make some people happy — maybe a lot of people happy — but I think in the end it would probably be detrimental to the party to try to have her removed by vote,” he added.
The North Dakota GOP national committeewoman, Lori Hinz, agreed with Brock's assessment.
“There is definitely frustration with repeated losses. I think everyone in the party feels that way,” Hinz said, adding that a strategy for a reversal of fortunes is "entirely up to Ronna. That’s her decision. She generally does not bend to outside sources very well."
Other RNC members have defended and praised McDaniel's record, arguing that the criticism is unfair and distracting from the real problems.
"Having worked with Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel over the past two election cycles, I could not ask for a better partner to help us ensure historic up-and-down ballot Republican victories in Iowa," Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. "Without her support, Iowa and the Iowa Caucus would not be first in the nation. She has my full confidence as we head into the thick of caucus season to do what's best by helping our country finally fire Joe Biden."
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, the RNC touted its accomplishments under McDaniel. The committee said it was "laser-focused" on defeating President Joe Biden next year, noting its efforts staffing up in 15 states, filing lawsuits to ensure election integrity, and launching a campaign to bolster early voting for Republican candidates.
Since McDaniel assumed the position in 2017, the Republican Party has generally underperformed in national elections, emphasized by the 2020 loss of the White House and failure in 2022 of an expected massive "red wave."
McDaniel has sought to skirt responsibility, arguing that critics don't understand the role of the RNC.
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"Well, I'm proud of the RNC, and I stand by what the RNC is doing, and some people don't understand what we do," she said in a Monday interview. "We're a turnout machine, and actually, it's going to look like more Republicans turned out in Virginia than Democrats. We actually turned out more Republicans than Democrats in Kentucky. We’re not the messaging. That comes from the candidate, and that's up to them."
The RNC chairwoman's position seems more precarious than ever after reports that her staunch ally, former President Donald Trump, has begun to grow sour on her. However, people close to Trump weren't unified in saying the former president wants to see McDaniel kicked out of her role. One person said he or she wasn't aware of any pressure to get Trump to call for McDaniel to resign.