By Illinois Review
Back in 2017, when Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus handed over the reigns to newly elected chairwoman Ronna Romney-McDaniel, he said,
“We’ve got record levels of red all over the country.”
And he was right.
As NBC News reported after the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump, Republicans controlled “both the House and the Senate, as well as both chambers in 32 state legislatures. In 25 of those states, Republicans held both statehouse chambers and the governorship.”
By contrast, the Democrats held a “trifecta in only five” states.
But under the leadership of Ronna Romney-McDaniel, the niece of Never Trumper and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Democrats have dominated at the national level – reversing the winning streak under Priebus’ leadership.
As conservative attorney and Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter wrote in a recent column,
“Five rounds of elections – three cycles and two Georgia primaries – and not a win among them.”
During the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats flipped control of the US House of Representatives away from the Republicans – handing the Speakership back to Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the second time.
The losses even prompted Romney-McDaniel to admit that the party would do a “deep data dive” of the 2018 midterm election and get to the bottom of why Republicans suffered so many defeats across the country.
In 2020, Romney-McDaniel oversaw election efforts where Republicans witnessed widespread voter fraud in key battleground states across the country; Democrats regained control of the US Senate where liberal Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer was elected Senate Majority Leader; Speaker Pelosi maintained her grip on power in the House; and an incoherent man with obvious health issues and numerous moments of confusion was elected president – despite rarely leaving his basement to campaign.
In 2022, after overseeing another disappointing midterm election cycle, Romney-McDaniel launched a new advisory council that would review RNC political strategy to avoid more losses and be better prepared in 2024, saying in a statement,
“As we assess the midterms and plan for 2024, we are gathering a diverse range of respected leaders in our movement to join together and help chart a winning course in the years to come.”
And while Romney-McDaniel has overseen massive fundraising efforts, all money in the world still can’t buy her an election victory. And that’s a problem.
It’s no wonder Romney-McDaniel was seeking re-election as RNC chair, her salary has nearly doubled since she was elected in 2017.
In 2017, according to Federal Election Commission reports, her salary was $122,582.
In 2020, the year Joe Biden took office and the Democrats regained control of the US Senate, Romney-McDaniel’s salary was $410,640.
By contrast, former RNC chair Reince Priebus was paid a salary of $152,874 during his first year as chair in 2011; and $257,782 in his final year in 2016.
Romney-McDaniel has also come under fire for a report that showed the RNC spending millions of dollars on private jets, limousines, luxury retreats and Broadway shows since her election as RNC chair in 2017.
Financial records also showed $100,000 for hair and makeup, and dry cleaning services – for Romney-McDaniel’s media appearances.
It’s no wonder Romney-McDaniel doesn’t want to leave – the RNC credit card has become her own personal piggy bank; she flies on private jets; and she stays at only the most luxurious of hotels when traveling and she’s the highest paid RNC chair in history, despite a record of losses.
So it is no surprise that embattled Illinois GOP chairman Don Tracy voted for Romney-McDaniel for a historic fourth term as RNC chair – marking her tenure as the longest serving RNC leader since the 19th century – and a record of losses under her belt. They both want to be rewarded for overseeing widespread losses.
Alongside Tracy, national committeeman Richard Porter and national committeewoman Demtra DeMonte also voted for Romney-McDaniel.
In his weekly Chairman’s Memo, Tracy explained on Saturday why he voted for Romney-McDaniel, writing,
“I call Ronna an infrastructure leader because that is what the RNC is, a political infrastructure support system. By next week, I will have served as Illinois State Chairman for two years. During that time, I have had an inside view of the great work Ronna has done on national Republican infrastructure and how much it has improved under her watch.”
Tracy then heaped praise on Romney-McDaniel for her leadership as the Michigan GOP chair for helping to elect Trump in 2016, even though Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton by only 10,000 votes in Michigan.
“Her creative and determined leadership of the Michigan party is a reason Donald Trump won in 2016, and she has set records for fundraising and support of state parties as RNC chairman.”
Tracy then concluded,
“The bottom line is that Ronna McDaniel has done an excellent job in every element of what an RNC Chairman is supposed to do in an environment that has been uniquely challenging. She’s a proven grass-roots leader with a solid plan for the next two years.”
Like Romney-McDaniel, Tracy’s record in Illinois resembles his race in 2002 when he ran as a Democrat and lost.
As the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board pointed out in a Nov. 11 editorial,
“Republicans lost every state constitutional office – governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer – and 14 of 17 congressional seats. In the General Assembly, not only did the GOP fail to gain any ground on Democrats’ supermajority, Democrats notched a record number of seats in the Illinois House. And in the Illinois Supreme Court, where Republicans had an opportunity to gain two seats…they came up short. Democrats now have a comfortable 5-2 edge in the state’s high court.”
Last Monday, Tracy joined Bishop on Air on WMAY radio on Monday and blamed former Illinois State Senator and Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey for midterm election losses, and said the IL GOP needs to re-evaluate their primary election neutrality policy moving forward.
“And a lot of these great candidates we had this past time put their heart and soul and their family treasure into these races only to be impacted by the top of the ticket, something they have no control over…So I think we almost have a fiduciary duty to look at our primary and determine whether neutrality is the best policy.”
Shocking and a slap in the face to the over 1.7 million Illinoisans who voted for Bailey in the general election.
During the primary election, Bailey defeated the IL GOP’s preferred candidate, Richard Irvin by a shocking 43 points.
Tracy also reiterated during the interview that the IL GOP remained neutral during the governor primary, despite a pile of evidence that suggests otherwise.
And just a few days ago, Illinois Review reported that Chicago GOP chair Stephen Boulton – a close ally and advisor to Tracy, in a thread of Facebook comments a year ago, dissed the unvaccinated, said they should pay for their own hospital costs out-of-pocket, and considered saving the life of an unvaccinated person in a hospital, was “wasteful” spending.
Illinois Review then followed up with another article, highlighting Boulton’s history of attacking women and conservatives online – misogynist behavior unbecoming of man, let alone the leader of the Chicago Republican Party.
And on Friday, Illinois Review followed up with another article of Boulton attacking a respected African American woman and 8th Ward Republican Committeeman Lynn Franco – a frequent target of Boulton’s vicious attacks.
Boulton has since responded by going on a tirade on social media, responding to articles about how he attacks people, by attacking people. You can’t make this up.
And where is IL GOP chair Don Tracy on this? He remains silent – an indication of his continued support for his dear friend Boulton and his misogynistic behavior.
Illinois Review has always said that it was time for Tracy to go. It’s time for Boulton too.
