NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 By week\u2019s end, the Republican National Committee is set to resolve a\u00a0bitter leadership feud\u00a0that has exposed perilous divisions within a party that has struggled to move past a disappointing midterm ahead of a critical race for the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those inside the fight believe the days ahead of Friday\u2019s secret ballot at a luxury seaside resort could get even uglier as rebel forces within former President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d movement threaten to upend RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel\u2019s reelection bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attacks have been led by McDaniel\u2019s chief rival, Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump attorney who has accused the incumbent of religious bigotry, chronic misspending and privately claiming she can control the former president \u2014 allegations McDaniel denies. Also in the race is My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who secured enough support to qualify for the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump hasn\u2019t made a public endorsement, but he and his team are privately advocating for McDaniel, whom\u00a0he tapped for the position\u00a0shortly after his 2016 victory. Still, many Trump loyalists blame McDaniel, the niece of\u00a0Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, for some of the party\u2019s recent struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview, Dhillon insisted that the overwhelming majority of Republican voters want a leadership change at the RNC. She warned of serious political consequences for any of the committee\u2019s 168 elected members who support McDaniel\u2019s reelection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor those members of the party who vote not with what the people in their state want but with what their own self-interest is, the next time they\u2019re up for election, it\u2019s going to be an issue,\u201d Dhillon told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apprised of Dhillon\u2019s statement, McDaniel said, \u201cThat sounds like a threat.\u201d She condemned the increasingly ugly attacks against her and the divisions plaguing the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nobody who\u2019s enjoyed this more than Democrats. I know, because I love it when they\u2019re fighting each other,\u201d McDaniel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friday\u2019s vote for RNC chair serves as the\u00a0latest high-profile leadership test\u00a0for a deeply divided Republican Party grappling with questions about its future \u2014 and Trump\u2019s influence \u2014 ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The infighting was on public display earlier this month as\u00a0House Republicans almost came to blows\u00a0before uniting behind House Speaker Kevin McCarthy,\u00a0undermined by the same MAGA forces\u00a0threatening McDaniel this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In both cases, Trump has struggled to control his own loyalists, who seem intent on fighting the status quo \u2014 whether McCarthy or McDaniel \u2014 no matter the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seeking to influence the vote, a group of Florida Republicans from the party\u2019s MAGA wing moved last Friday to hold a vote of \u201cno confidence\u201d in McDaniel, which Republican groups in a handful of other states have done in recent weeks as well. But the Florida gathering, which drew leading McCarthy detractor Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., fell far short of reaching the quorum needed to hold an official vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, dozens of anti-McDaniel protesters waved signs outside the event. One read, \u201cRONNA IS THE ENEMY WITHIN.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is that we want a really strong leader who\u2019s in touch with MAGA, and Ronna just doesn\u2019t have that,\u201d Lake County, Florida, GOP Chair Anthony Sabatini, who led the anti-McDaniel push, said in a phone interview from a shooting range as gunshots rang out. \u201cShe\u2019s lost the confidence of voters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has avoided weighing in on the RNC chair fight at McDaniel\u2019s request, according to those with direct knowledge of the situation. The former president would endorse her if she asked, but McDaniel\u2019s team currently believes she will win without his public backing, allowing her to maintain a sense of neutrality heading into the 2024 presidential primary season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to its bylaws, the RNC must remain neutral in the presidential primary. Trump is the\u00a0only announced GOP candidate so far, but other high-profile contenders are expected in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Trump could ultimately endorse McDaniel ahead of Friday\u2019s vote if his public support is deemed necessary, according to people familiar with his thinking who, like others interviewed, spoke on condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least three top Trump lieutenants \u2014 senior advisers Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita and Clayton Henson \u2014 are planning to attend this week\u2019s three-day RNC winter meeting in Southern California, where the vote will play out. While they are not attending specifically on McDaniel\u2019s behalf, Trump\u2019s team is making clear in private conversations that he backs McDaniel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McDaniel\u2019s unofficial whip team is expected to include former Trump chief counselor Kellyanne Conway, former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, former Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, she said. Another high-profile Trump loyalist, Maryland RNC member David Bossie, is also backing McDaniel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhillon\u2019s guest list is still in flux, but she said over the weekend that her team would likely include former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk and country singer John Rich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After three consecutive disappointing national elections, there is a broad sense of dissatisfaction among Republican voters and RNC members alike about the health of their party. Some are increasingly eager to move on from Trump and, by proxy, McDaniel, who is viewed as a close Trump ally \u2014 even if many Trump\u2019s supporters outside the RNC membership see her as insufficiently committed to their cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been Trump\u2019s lap dog for four-plus years,\u201d said Bill Palatucci, an RNC member from New Jersey and a vocal critic of both Trump and McDaniel. While Palatucci formally endorsed Dhillon late last week, he is skeptical she has the votes to defeat McDaniel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhillon has unleashed a torrent of attacks against McDaniel in recent weeks that have resonated across Trump\u2019s MAGA movement. But as the far right cheered, Dhillon may have alienated would-be supporters on the actual Republican National Committee, which is made up of activists and elected officials from all 50 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has seized on several examples of apparent misspending and mismanagement under McDaniel\u2019s watch, which McDaniel\u2019s team \u2014 backed by former Trump officials like Wiles \u2014 claim are inaccurate or misleading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent days, the attacks against McDaniel have intensified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Dhillon promoted claims that a McDaniel ally raised concerns about Dhillon\u2019s faith in at least one private conversation. Dhillon, who is of Indian heritage, identifies as a member of the Sikh religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The McDaniel ally has denied the claim, which was outlined in a detailed email to the RNC\u2019s entire membership bearing the subject line \u201cReligious Bigotry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhillon also highlighted a Washington Post report that McDaniel has said, in multiple private conversations with RNC members, that only she can dissuade Trump from launching an independent presidential bid \u2014 and ultimately destroying the party\u2019s chances in the next presidential election \u2014 should he fail to win the GOP nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe said it to many people: Only I can control Trump,\u201d Dhillon told the AP, likening such a statement to someone believing they could single-handedly stop an asteroid from crashing into Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McDaniel said such claims are \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter working with President Trump for six years, I don\u2019t think anybody could ever say they control him,\u201d McDaniel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, McDaniel warned of a \u201chuge risk\u201d if Republicans cannot stop the infighting as the 2024 election season begins. The GOP is well positioned to win the Senate majority and maintain control of the House, although the presidential contest will dominate much of the committee\u2019s focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is really critical as we head into \u201924 that we stop labeling, attacking, demonizing other Republicans to the point where we can\u2019t bring them together post-primary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For her part, Dhillon said she would \u201cof course\u201d unite behind McDaniel if she ultimately prevails Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJob 1 is winning elections,\u201d Dhillon said. \u201cI\u2019m a team player.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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