Trump congratulates McDaniel on RNC chair reelection

Former President Trump congratulated Ronna McDaniel for winning a fourth term as chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday.

“Congratulations to Ronna McDaniel on her big WIN as RNC CHAIR,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social, before later baselessly alleging Democrats were rigging elections. The former president had not offered a public endorsement of any candidate ahead of the vote.

McDaniel won reelection for the RNC after committee members held a secret ballot vote in Dana Point, Calif. The incumbent faced two other challengers: California-based attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO and prominent election denier Mike Lindell. McDaniel ultimately received 111 votes, while Dhillion received 51 and Lindell received four.

The contentious election came after some members of the party voiced calls for new leadership in the wake of a disappointing November election for the GOP. Republicans were unable to flip the Senate, and while they were able to flip the House, they hold only a thin majority in the lower chamber. 

That thin majority has shown how squabbles among factions of the party can ultimately sway top GOP leadership. That was the case as the House held 15 votes to attempt to pick and vote on a Speaker. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ultimately won that vote, but his win came after a group of holdout Republicans extracted concessions from him.

Some members of the party felt that given the GOP’s performance in the 2022, 2020 and 2018 elections, the party needed someone new to lead the RNC. However, McDaniel was predicted likely to win another term given several letters circulated ahead of the vote showing she had more than the simple majority of RNC committee members needed to win reelection.