BREAKING: IL GOP Ally Ronna Romney-McDaniel to Resign as RNC Chair, Leaves Legacy of Election Losses, Poor Fundraising

By Illinois Review

On Tuesday evening, the New York Times reported that during a private meeting with President Donald Trump – the presumptive Republican nominee for President, embattled Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney-McDaniel shared her plans to step down after the South Carolina primary – bringing to an end a tenure marked by election losses and poor fundraising numbers.

Under the leadership of Ronna Romney-McDaniel, the niece of Never Trumper and establishment Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, Democrats have dominated at the national level.

As conservative attorney and Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter wrote in a column,

“Five rounds of elections – three cycles and two Georgia primaries – and not a win among them.”

During the 2018 midterm elections – Romney-McDaniel’s first as RNC chair – Democrats flipped control of the US House of Representatives away from the Republicans – handing the Speakership back to Democrat US Rep. Nancy Pelosi for the second time.

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 all-too-many 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 at the time,

“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 in the midst of a string of election losses, Romney-McDaniel had her salary increased. 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. The annual salary of the President of the United States is $400,000.

Romney-McDaniel has also come under fire for reports 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 being spent on Romney-McDaniel’s hair, makeup and dry cleaning services for her television appearances.

And just recently, the RNC reported its worst fundraising year since 2013 – raising only $87 million in 2023 compared to the Democrats who raised $120 million during that same time. So far in 2024, Democrats have $21 million cash on hand, while the Republicans sit with just $8 million.

And just a few weeks ago, the RNC was considering opening a line of credit to help boost the national party financially – a rare and embarrassing move.

In January of 2023, Romney-McDaniel was elected to a historic fourth term as RNC chair – beating out conservative grassroots leader Harmeet Dhillon – marking her tenure as the longest serving RNC leader since the 19th century – and a record of losses under her belt.

During the 2023 RNC election, embattled Illinois GOP chair Don Tracy and national committeeman Richard Porter – close friends of Romney-McDaniel, voted for her re-election. In his weekly chairman’s memo at the time, Tracy wrote,

“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 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.”

During an Illinois radio interview before the RNC election, Tracy falsely accused Harmeet Dhillon of running a negative campaign against Romney-McDaniel for RNC chair, saying,

“But now I hope we can unify, the other thing about Ronna is she ran a very uh, non negative campaign, where Harmeet’s campaign was pretty negative, and I think kind of violated the 11th Commandment at times…’thou shalt not speak ill against thy fellow Republican.’ And Ronna chose not to go negative…and she’d be in a better position to unify the party if she didn’t go negative, and she didn’t.”

But Tracy, who is talking about the importance of party unity, goes live on air and attacks Dhillon – breaking the very commandment he just recited.

During Dhillon’s campaign for RNC chair, she was targeted by many RNC members and supporters of Romney-McDaniel, some even threatened her.

Several names are in the running to replace Romney-McDaniel, including Dhillon, North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley and political activist Scott Presler.