Report: RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel Intends to Launch Reelection Bid

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Monday that she plans to seek reelection to her post, according to a report.

McDaniel, who has served as chairwoman since 2017, revealed her plans to RNC members during a press call on Monday, as Politico’s Alex Isenstadt reported. Her announcement comes as Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who was defeated by Gov. Kathy Hochul in New York’s gubernatorial race last week, is reportedly likely to “explore” a run for RNC chair himself.

“It’s likely that he will at least explore it. … He’s fielding calls, talking to people, listening to them, but it has not gone beyond that,” said Zeldin’s media consultant John Brabender, as NBC News reported. 

Sources reportedly told the outlet that the chairman of the Conservative Union, Matt Schlapp, and his wife, Mercedes, are both weighing potential runs. 

“We have fielded calls,” Matt Schlapp told the outer Monday, adding that “My wife would be fantastic” as chairwoman. 

McDaniel predicted GOP majorities in both Houses of Congress while appearing on CNN’s State of the Union days before the election. NBC News’s latest projection indicates the GOP will take a slim majority in the House of Representatives.

Tuesday’s midterm saw Democrats pick up a pivotal Senate seat in Pennsylvania while they defended vulnerable Democrat seats in the key swing states of Nevada, Arizona, and New Hampshire, giving them control of the Senate for the final two years of Biden’s term. Democrats will retain control of the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote even if Republican Herschel Walker unseats Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in the Georgia run-off election next month.

McDaniel was elected to the chairship in 2017 after former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus joined former President Donald Trump’s administration as Chief of Staff, where he lasted six months. McDaniel chaired the party through the 2018 midterms, which saw Republicans gain two Senate seats but lose the House, and during the unprecedented 2020 election that saw widespread mail-in voting and the GOP’s loss of both the White House and its Senate majority.

McDaniel previously served as the chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party in 2016 and helped deliver the first Republican victory in the state in a presidential election since 1988.

“Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, and I know she will bring the same passion to the Republican National Committee,” said Trump in 2016.