Alabama Republican Party votes no confidence in RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel

The Alabama Republican Party Steering Committee voted on Saturday for new leadership at the Republican National Committee (RNC). Incumbent RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel is seeking re-election to the position. The Alabama Republican Party Steering Committee announced that they will not support McDaniel’s re-election.

“It’s nothing personal,” Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl told Alabama Today Monday.

Wahl acknowledged that there are a number of factors in why the GOP has underwhelmed in recent elections.

“It’s not all her fault,” Wahl said, emphasizing the need for a change of direction at the RNC.

“We believe that RNC leadership needs a new vision for future elections,” the Steer Committee said in a statement. “We believe that the RNC needs fresh, new leadership who can inspire and lead grassroots Republicans to victory.”

“The Alabama Republican Party’s Steering Committee cannot support or endorse Ronna McDaniel for RNC Chair and declare our vote of no-confidence in her leadership,” the Steering Committee concluded. “We encourage all RNC members across the country to support new leadership at the RNC Winter Meeting.”

There is growing dissatisfaction with the RNC after the Republican Party lost control of the House in 2018, former Vice President Joe Biden unseated President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, the loss of the Senate when two GOP incumbents were defeated in the Georgia election runoffs, the failure to retake the Senate in 2022, and the GOP’s loss of some gubernatorial races – most notably Arizona – which could have consequences in 2024. Despite this, McDaniel, the niece of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), is running for a fourth term as head of the RNC. She is being challenged by Harmeet Dhillon, an RNC member from California.

Supporters of McDaniel argue that the Republicans did win back control of the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterms and that the RNC has raised $1.5 billion during McDaniel’s tenure – more than any previous RNC Chair.

One hundred sixty-eight delegates will decide who leads the RNC moving forward into the 2024 elections at the RNC meetings later this month. The 440-member Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee will meet on February 24^th and 25^th in Birmingham at the BJCC.

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