McDaniel may soon face a fresh challenge: upholding her pledge that the national party will stay neutral in its coming presidential primary. McDaniel is preparing to run for a fourth consecutive term in January. If she wins, she would become the longest-serving RNC chair since the 1800s, refereeing a contested 2024 Republican presidential nomination fight in which her old boss is likely to be the front-runner.

“She has not announced anything and is focused on the November elections,” said John Hammond, an RNC member from Indiana. “That said, my conversations with her indicate she is open to running again and likely to do so, which I believe would be very popular within the RNC membership.”

It’s almost certain she’ll have the votes, several of the committee’s 168 members said in interviews, but what’s less certain is whether she can refrain from favoring the candidate who has been her political patron.

“I think that would be a big question for her when we get there,” said Bill Palatucci, an RNC member from New Jersey. He said he is “fighting tooth and nail every day to show that Republicans can be responsive and willing to work with the other side. And so, some of the conduct of the RNC over the last two years makes life difficult for a Republican like me in New Jersey.”