For the past ten days, Michigan has abounded with rumors that Republican National Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel would soon resign her position to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.
McDaniel, whose grandfather George Romney was governor of Michigan from 1962-69, addressed the possibility of a candidacy herself during an interview last week on Detroit’s WJR Radio.
''It was a throwaway line,'' McDaniel told interviewer and longtime Oakland County Republican leader Rocky Raczkowski about her recent remark she might run in ’22, ''But I’m desperate. We need a better governor.''
McDaniel noted that her own two children were still going to school virtually and charged that Whitmer ''walked away'' from reopening their state.
''Our kids deserve better [than Whitmer],'' said McDaniel, still stopping short of saying whether she would run or not.
McDaniel’s association with and spirited support of former President Donald Trump has caused strains with some family members — notably her uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney, R.-Utah.
But the Oakland County GOP activist and former state party chairman is very popular among her party’s grassroots and is considered a strong prospect against Whitmer.
Other past Republican National chairmen who have gone on to elective office include Haley Barbour, who was Mississippi’s governor after his stint at the RNC helm, and George H.W. Bush, who served as RNC chairman under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before he was elected vice president in 1980.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.