A significant majority of GOP voters believe that there needs to be a new chair of the Republican National Committee rather than re-elect Ronna McDaniel, according to a poll.
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Donald Trump speaks after his introduction by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel at a fundraising breakfast in a restaurant in New York, New York on December 2, 2017.
A recent survey from the Convention of States Action, in partnership with The Trafalgar Group, revealed that just 5.6 percent of Republican voters want to see McDaniel, who was handpicked for the role by Donald Trump, get a fourth two-year term as RNC chair.
The polls revealed 73.5 percent of Republican voters say the party should elect someone new to serve as chairperson of the RNC, with 20.9 percent saying they are unsure.
The results are another damning indication that Republicans are willing to move on from Trump and the former president’s attempts to mold the GOP in his image.
Since Trump picked McDaniel as RNC chair in 2017, the GOP has lost the House in 2018, the White House in 2020, and the Senate in 2022.
In the wake of the GOP’s poor 2022 midterm performance, in which the party only just achieved a majority in the House and failed to take control of the Senate after a number of Trump-endorsed candidates lost their elections, Convention of States Action said the poll results show Republican voters are ready for sweeping changes of leadership in the GOP.
The poll also shows that 62.7 percent of Republican voters say the Republican Party and its congressional leadership were “ineffective” in getting GOP candidates elected in November’s midterm elections.
“Republican voters are furious about the failure of their party to deliver results in 2022—especially given the disastrous mismanagement of the country by the Biden Administration and their allies in Congress,” Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States Action, a group that is calling for a constitutional convention in order to severely restrict federal power, said in a statement.
“Voters believe the only way to hold the GOP accountable for its failures is to make way for new leadership.
“Grassroots activists have known for a long time that GOP leadership in Congress and at the RNC aren’t focused on fighting for conservative principles, or even winning a majority, but rather keeping themselves in power and funding the permanent political consultant class.”
McDaniel, who faces a challenge from Trump attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for the RNC chair, has lost some support from the GOP in the wake of the party’s midterm performance.
Both the Alabama and Texas Republican parties have already confirmed that they would not endorse McDaniel for re-election.
However, McDaniel is still on her way to clinching a fourth term despite the pressure she is facing. In December, 107 committee members signed a letter confirming their support for her to continue as RNC chair.
McDaniel just needs a majority backing of the 168 committee members to become RNC chair again.
The RNC will vote to determine who will be the next chair at the committee’s annual winter meeting, due to be held this year in Dana Point, California, on January 27.
In a statement, Emma Vaughn, spokesperson from McDaniel’s re-election campaign, told Newsweek: “Just like the RNC, Chairwoman McDaniel’s decision to run for re-election was member driven. Members of the 168 rallied around the Chairwoman because of her unprecedented investments in the grassroots, election integrity, and minority communities, and for taking on Big Tech and the biased Commission on Presidential Debates.
“Member support for the Chairwoman has grown since her announcement and she will continue speaking with each and every member about how the party can continue building upon our investments and make the necessary improvements to compete and win in 2024.”
The Convention of States Action survey was conducted between December 17 through December 21 of 1,078 registered GOP and GOP primary voters, with a margin of error of 2.9 percent
Trump has been contacted for comment.
Update 1/11/2022, 9:16 a.m. EST: This article has been updated with a full statement from Ronna McDaniel’s campaign team.
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