Republicans in Congress support Ronna McDaniel more than they oppose her in her campaign to keep the RNC chair. Yet another group, Hill Republicans who are utterly uninterested in their national party leader, might be the most illuminating.
McDaniel has presided over three election cycles in which her party lost the White House and the Senate but gained a narrower-than-anticipated majority in the House. McDaniel is currently facing two opponents in her campaign to secure a fourth term this week, and she is dealing with a lukewarm level of backing from the highest levels of Capitol Hill.
When asked about McDaniel’s future, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a former state GOP chair, responded, “I don’t care.” “I was taken aback by her desire to run once more. Why would you subject yourself to such suffering? But it’s her decision.
Although Cramer isn’t requesting that McDaniel be replaced, many GOP lawmakers share his shrug-emoji reaction. That is more related to broad political changes than it is to her personally: The more the party has been decentralised through super PACs, party committees, and candidate fundraising, the less entwined Republican lawmakers are with the RNC.
I don’t know what the RNC does, as stated on Tuesday by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo. Really, I don’t.
However, McDaniel’s unfavourable record, which includes a controversial decision to punish two former House Republicans who joined the committee on January 6, is also a contributing factor in some Republicans’ cool reception of her. The RNC chair is positioned to play a crucial role in the GOP’s navigation of an open presidential primary next year, as the party is now experiencing an identity crisis as a result of Donald Trump’s exit from the White House. Furthermore, senior Senate Republicans aren’t exactly begging for McDaniel to serve another two years.
Both Republican Whip John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are holding off on endorsing a certain RNC candidate. Several well-known Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and her relative Mitt Romney of Utah, who stated that “we don’t always agree on all policies, but I stand with family,” do support McDaniel.
No. 4 Senate Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa said, “She has been so helpful to Iowa, in really fleshing out the first-in-the-nation caucus… she does a tremendous job.” She can work to unify our party and support Republican candidates as much as she can. But in the end, you need candidates who are prepared to argue their case.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines of Montana both endorsed McDaniel in a letter. According to Emma Vaughn, a representative for McDaniel’s RNC campaign, “Chairwoman McDaniel’s choice to run for re-election was member-driven, much like the RNC.”
Since her statement, “support for the chairwoman among members and leaders from across the ecosystem has grown,” stated Vaughn.
However, the majority of Republican senators are opposed to the RNC election. Many claimed they were unaware of the vote’s date (Friday).
“I have a tonne of responsibilities. Not one of them is that. Sen. John Cornyn stated, “I wish them all the best” (R-Texas).
Supporters of McDaniel and those who are uninterested in the race have one thing in common: neither group holds the RNC largely responsible for the GOP’s recent electoral successes. That’s partly due to Trump’s disproportionate influence since since McDaniel assumed control of the national party.
Furthermore, it appears that the days of Howard Dean’s 50-state DNC strategy and Haley Barbour’s illustrious leadership of the RNC are behind us. The level of power the RNC or the DNC have over the two major political parties today is severely constrained.
“We have issues if we’re going to blame losing on the head of the national committee. They don’t have that much power, according to Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)
The fact that congressional Republicans are unsure about McDaniel’s opponents is one of the reasons they aren’t demanding her replacement. When he ran for DNC head in 2017, Pete Buttigieg attained a degree of national-politics wunderkind reputation that the GOP lacks.
Several Senate Republicans, including Tuberville, are familiar with Mike Lindell, one of McDaniel’s rivals who is known as the “My Pillow Guy” in some Republican circles. Republicans, though, claimed that they were unsure of Lindell’s candidacy’s seriousness.
The second candidate running against McDaniel, Harmeet Dhillon, has a difficult road ahead of him among the 168 voting RNC members. Additionally, Senate Republicans claimed in interviews that they had no knowledge of Dhillon or her brand of politics.
On the other hand, a number of Republican senators noted that in 2022, turnout, a crucial RNC mandate, was strong. And for another two years, McDaniel’s supporters will be in her back.
“McDaniel is aware of the system. In the year 2022, we had numerous issues. I hold no grudge against her. For me, continuity is a positive thing. She is a capable, fair-minded candidate in the presidential primaries, and we are in a strong position to win back the Senate in 2024, according to Graham. “I trust her,” you said.
Graham, meanwhile, is among a seemingly small group of Hill Republicans willing to publicly risk their careers in the race for the RNC chair. It is particularly telling that McConnell chose not to support her because he recoiled from the national GOP’s rebuke of Trump foes Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) last year and was far more pessimistic about his party’s chances in the midterm elections than most Republicans.
In the neutral zone with him is McConnell’s top deputy and one of his possible successors.
“I won’t get involved in that. They will work things out, Thune assured. “I’m assuming that no matter what I say, if I’m in someone’s corner, it’ll definitely hurt them.”