As the Republican National Committee meets for the last day of its annual winter meeting and prepares to elect its new leadership, Harmeet Dhillon is working overtime to pull off an upset over Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and replace her as the new committee chief.
The RNC is scheduled to hold its leadership elections on Friday, choosing its next chair to lead the committee during the 2024 elections. To be sure, McDaniel has remained a favorite in the race, boasting the support of more than 100 RNC members and several other high-profile endorsements.
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However, Dhillon, a lawyer and RNC committeewoman, has not wavered in her efforts to oust McDaniel from the coveted position. Ever since the committee arrived in Dana Point, California, earlier this week for the RNC Winter Meeting, Dhillon and her team have been courting members to flip their votes — with some reportedly indicating they may be convinced to do so.
Dhillon got a major boost on Thursday after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) backed her candidacy, calling for a “change” in leadership within the RNC. It’s not clear how likely DeSantis’s support will sway members to change their vote, but Dhillon suggested the eleventh-hour efforts could be enough to push her across the finish line.
“I heard some who back Ronna are now kinda freaking out about it. I’ll just leave it at that,” Dhillon told Politico. “I don’t want to jinx this, but we had a very good night and a very good day.”
While McDaniel’s campaign team remains confident in her reelection chances, Dhillon has posed a strong challenge in recent weeks. Dhillon boasts the endorsement of several top party donors, as well as the backing of the Republican parties in states such as Nebraska and Washington.
Spokespeople for McDaniel have remained confident the chairwoman will be reelected, pointing to a letter circulated by about 100 members of the RNC in November that showed they would back her run. The RNC is composed of 168 members, meaning any candidate must get 85 votes to secure the top leadership position.
However, Dhillon claims to have the endorsements of at least 21 RNC committee members on her campaign website, and she has hinted at flipping some of McDaniel’s “soft” votes by the time the election is held.
The committee has remained seemingly split on who to back in the consequential election as both McDaniel and Dhillon have successfully courted both the RNC’s anti-Trump members as well as the former president’s allies.
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Some members have criticized McDaniel for her close relationship with former President Donald Trump, especially as some Republicans have sought to distance themselves from his influence in the 2024 election cycle. McDaniel’s team has maintained she would remain neutral in the nomination process.
The leadership elections come at a crucial time for the GOP as the party must collect itself after a disappointing midterm election cycle and position itself to win key races in the 2024 election. McDaniel has argued she is in the best position to do so, but several party leaders have called for new leadership.
