The Republican National Committee’s 168 members and their guests have gathered at the Waldorf Astoria in New York for a three-day retreat, marking the first time they have been under the same roof since a contentious race for party chair began nearly two months ago. The retreat, which is expected to culminate in a secret ballot vote on Friday, has seen less fireworks and fewer laughs than some members anticipated.
Incumbent chair Ronna McDaniel, who is seeking a rare fourth term, has been boasting of her overwhelming support among RNC members. Her supporters believe the fight is over and that she is favored to win re-election. However, the team working to secure votes for challenger Harmeet Dhillon, a California national committee member, is not ready to concede. They have been parading around the hotel with high-profile surrogates, such as former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and country artist John Rich, in an effort to persuade RNC members that the RNC needs change.
According to one GOP operative in attendance, RNC members have “historically backstabbed each other” on secret ballots, citing past leadership races where candidates found out they didn’t have the votes they were promised.
Oscar Brock, a national committee member from Tennessee and a member of Harmeet Dhillon’s campaign team, is working to sway potentially undecided members to vote for Dhillon in the RNC chair race. He estimates that as many as 30 members remain on the fence, with a majority of 85 out of 168 needed to win the race.
Caroline Wren, a Republican strategist running Dhillon’s campaign, said that Dhillon “needs to sway at least 12 more people” but noted that she had over a day to do so and had just given an “incredibly moving speech” about her immigrant background to members in a closed-door forum.
Roger Villere, a national committee member from Louisiana, reported that he had spoken to three members who had changed their vote to Dhillon, but did not specify who they were.
“I think Ronna still has the edge, but Harmeet is still in the fight,” said Brock. “There are the saints, the sinners and the savable.”
Despite Dhillon allies claiming that a handful of undecided members have come over to their side since arriving at the luxury resort, there have been no obvious signs of mass movement towards Dhillon, the kind of momentum she needs after listing only 30 member endorsements compared to over 100 by McDaniel.
On Wednesday, Ronna McDaniel’s campaign announced two more public endorsements from the state party chairs of Wisconsin and Vermont, who had not previously weighed in on the race. This came hours after Harmeet Dhillon’s team had a strong presence at an evening happy hour in the hotel lobby.
Dhillon and a dozen or so supporters greeted fellow members at the hotel bar on Tuesday night before official business kicked off. One of those being lobbied was Paul Dame, the Vermont GOP chair, who said he had kept an open mind about the race in the past two months and held off on committing his vote until Wednesday morning.
Dame released a statement endorsing McDaniel, criticizing Dhillon’s aggressive campaign tactics that disparage the party and its current officials. In an interview, Dame said he reached the conclusion after one tweet too many by Dhillon going after the RNC establishment – a tactic Dhillon and her allies have defended as a necessary part of campaigning against the incumbent.
“She has kind of set up her campaign around the idea that ‘the RNC is corrupt, and it’s going to stay corrupt unless you put me in to fix it,’” Dame said. “And I think that puts us in a really tough spot, and it’s created an unnecessary division.”
Despite originally planning to keep quiet about his vote, Paul Dame, the Vermont GOP chair, decided to release a statement endorsing McDaniel, criticizing Dhillon’s aggressive campaign tactics. In an interview, Dame stated that Dhillon’s rhetoric had created an unnecessary division within the party. He acknowledged that he would have to discuss his decision with grassroots activists in his state who have been energized by Dhillon’s bid and believe she is on track to oust McDaniel.
During a speech at the member forum on Wednesday night, Dhillon addressed the criticism that she has disparaged fellow Republicans and used divisive rhetoric. She responded to an email sent to all members by a McDaniel supporter, highlighting examples of Dhillon’s public comments about RNC members having “contempt for the grassroots” and members working “very little” in between RNC gatherings. Dhillon stated that she feels her words have been misconstrued and that a distorted view had been presented.
“I have been characterized in a way that does not accurately reflect my views,” Dhillon said, addressing criticism of her campaign tactics. “Just as we do not like the liberal national news media mischaracterizing what we say, let’s be fair to one another and understand that if only half the information is presented, a distorted view may be formed.”
The only public debate in the race for RNC chair was held on Wednesday afternoon, featuring only one of the three candidates, My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has just one publicly declared supporter. Dhillon was represented by her surrogate, political strategist and fundraiser Caroline Wren, who stated that Dhillon was unable to attend the debate due to committee meetings. McDaniel’s seat at the debate remained empty as both Lindell and Wren criticized her performance as RNC chair. McDaniel previously announced that she would not participate in rogue debates, instead choosing to attend the RNC’s members-only candidate forum held on Wednesday evening at the Waldorf Astoria.
The McDaniel critic and conservative radio host John Fredericks organised the livestreamed public forum, which took place 2 1/2 miles away from the RNC resort at a discount hotel. Rich Anderson, a member of the Virginia National Committee who says he has not made up his mind about how he will vote, moderated the forum in front of a crowded room filled with grassroots activists.
At the retreat, there are additional indications of McDaniel’s continuing control over the RNC. Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to Donald Trump in the White House, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, were chosen to speak at a members lunch and dinner on Thursday.
And while Dhillon’s campaign team handed out tote bags with her campaign signs and persisted in asking attendees for support, McDaniel’s campaign team adopted a more subdued strategy at the meeting, even with surrogates like Vernon Jones, a former Georgia lawmaker, and Reince Priebus, a former RNC chair and Trump White House chief of staff, present.
Before the vote on Friday, Dhillon and McDaniel will both host late-night informational receptions for the members.
Wren stated, “We’re very, very close.” I won’t lie, though: The battle is still uphill.
(With Inputs from Politico)
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