subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now
Ronna McDaniel. Picture: MIKE SEGAR
Ronna McDaniel. Picture: MIKE SEGAR

Washington — Republican Party chair Ronna McDaniel said on February 26 she was leaving the job, after weeks of public pressure from the party’s likely 2024 presidential candidate, Donald Trump. 

The move came after former president Trump, the frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination, indicated he wanted to make changes to the Republican National Committee (RNC) as he prepares for a likely rematch with President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in November 2024.

“The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honour that tradition. I remain committed to winning back the White House and electing Republicans up and down the ballot in November,” McDaniel said in a statement.

She thanked Trump and said the move would be effective March 8 to allow the Republican nominee to choose the chair.

Fifteen states and one US territory will hold Republican nominating contests on Super Tuesday, which falls on March 5 2024.

RNC co-chair Drew McKissick also said he would step down.

Two weeks ago, Trump endorsed North Carolina Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley as the next RNC chair and his daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair, moving to cement his grip over the organisation as he closed in on the 2024 presidential nomination.

Whoever replaces McDaniel will face the challenge of unifying a fractured party with just nine months to go before the 2024 election.

The RNC plays a critical role in raising money for the nominee, promoting the party’s message, marshalling resources and turning out voters.

After a meeting with McDaniel early in February, Trump wrote on social media that he would be pushing for changes at the RNC after South Carolina’s February 24 primary, which he won handily on Saturday.

Trump, shortly after he won the 2016 election, had endorsed McDaniel — the niece of his former critic and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney — to take over the RNC.

McDaniel helped Trump win Michigan in that election, a state that was critical to Trump’s victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

McDaniel, who used her full name Ronna Romney McDaniel in public life, dropped the middle name after that endorsement. Multiple news outlets reported that Trump asked her to do so.

Mitt Romney, now a US senator from Massachusetts, denounced Trump as a “phony, a fraud” in an unusual March 2016 speech in which he urged Republicans to reject their own frontrunner.

Reuters

subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.