If the 168 members of the Republican National Committee had to vote on a national chair at their spring meeting April 12-14, the odds are strong that they would reelect incumbent Ronna McDaniel to an unprecedented fourth term at the party helm.
"Let's see how the midterm elections go, and then I will decide what to do at the winter [RNC] meeting in December," McDaniel told Newsmax on Wednesday night.
Most RNC members who spoke to Newsmax during the party conclave at the storied Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, voiced support for another term for McDaniel.
"Why would you want to let go of a CEO who is doing a fantastic job for the shareholders?" South Carolina's longtime national committeewoman, Cynthia Costa, said of McDaniel. "Ronna is doing a fantastic job raising money, and she connects with the RNC members. I say she should stay."
New Hampshire state party Chair Steve Stepanek, who ran former President Donald Trump's winning 2016 primary campaign in the Granite State, said "Ronna should run again, and I would definitely support her."
Along with McDaniel's fundraising prowess, Stepanek pointed to her standing up to the major television networks on the timing and questioners in presidential debates as a reason she should be reelected to the party helm.
Before it adjourns on Thursday, the RNC is expected to unanimously approve a resolution supporting McDaniel in requiring candidates for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 to agree in writing to the terms the party sets down for participation in any presidential debates.
In a party ruling committee that is increasingly composed of Trump loyalists, McDaniel, niece of frequent Trump critic and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, was frequently praised for her close relationship with the 45th president.
Should McDaniel opt against reelection, several current or former members of the RNC are likely to seek the position. Among those mentioned are State Chair Michael Whatley of North Carolina and Drew McKissick of South Carolina and Maryland National Committeeman David Bossie, who got a hero's welcome at the Memphis meeting for his new film detailing Facebook CEO Marc Zuckerberg's $400 million-plus contribution toward unseating Trump in 2020.
Also mentioned for a comeback bid is former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who held the position from 2010-16.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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