Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Newsmax on Wednesday night that party leaders nationwide are gearing up to shape state law through ballot initiatives, the way Democrats did during the 2022 election cycle.
McDaniel told "Rob Schmitt Tonight" that Democrat-backed ballot measures in her home state of Michigan on guaranteeing abortion rights and expanding early voting and absentee ballot drop boxes passed during the midterm elections.
McDaniel, who is seeking to be reelected to a second term as the party chair, said Republicans are ready to jump into that game.
"Republicans are going to have some valid initiatives this [election] cycle, but we've got to be ready," she said. "I think we're getting ready, because this is what the Democrats are going to do. And they're doing it through ballot initiatives."
She said the RNC cannot deal specifically with ballot initiatives, "but state parties can; and they have to be ready."
"This is how Democrats are systematically going into states and changing laws: directly through ballot initiatives. And that's what they just did in Michigan," she said.
McDaniel also weighed in on news that Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to roll back a universal school voucher program that was passed by the state Legislature, while at the same time proposes spending $40 million to give financial aid to students regardless of their immigration status.
McDaniel said even though Republicans lost in the Arizona races for governor and U.S. Senate in the midterm elections, there was good news because the political candidate who received the most votes statewide was Republican Kimberly Yee, who won the treasurer's race with 1,390,135. It could bode well for 2024, when independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is up for reelection.
"There's hope because the biggest vote-getter in Arizona this election cycle was a Republican," McDaniel said. "She got more votes than Katie Hobbs. She got more votes than [Sen.] Mark Kelly.
"There is a path for Republicans to win in Arizona, and we have [an] all-important Senate race there in 2024."
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