Ronna Romney Mcdaniel defeats Calif. attorney in national GOP leadership race

LOS ANGELES — A feud over the Republican Party’s future and its recent lackluster performance at the ballot box was decided in favor of the status quo Friday, with Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney Mcdaniel easily beating back an insurgent challenge from a prominent California conservative on Friday.

Harmeet Dhillon, a state party leader and San Francisco attorney whose clients include former President Donald Trump, failed in her effort to oust Mcdaniel, in a 111-51 vote at the party’s winter meeting at a lush seaside resort in Dana Point.

“We’ve heard the grassroots,” Mcdaniel said after she won reelection, adding that they also listened to the supporters of Dhillon and Mypillow founder Mike Lindell, who received four votes. “With us united and all of us going together, the Democrats are going to hear us in 2024.”

Dhillon said that while she was disappointed in the result, she hoped the party takes seriously the concerns of the grassroots activists who supported her bid.

“If we go back to our homes and ignore those messages, I think it’s at our peril,” she said. “I’m committed to healing and coming together with folks but at the end of the day, if our party is perceived as totally out of touch with the grassroots, which I think some may take away from this outcome, we have some work to do.”

The RNC, an insular body that operates largely outside of public view, comprises 168 committee members from across the country who wield notable political power in shaping the party’s political agenda.

Though now often usurped by well-funded independent political groups, the RNC is the official fundraising arm for national Republicans. In the 2020 presidential election, it spent $834 million, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks electoral finances. The committee makes key decisions, such as deciding where the party holds its presidential nominating convention and crafting the party’s platform.

The battle between Mcdaniel and Dhillon, both vocal Trump supporters, did not reflect a divide over the former president, who has announced that he plans to run in 2024 and remains an influential force in his party’s politics. Trump publicly remained neutral in the race between the two women, with whom he has close ties.