Rethinking Ronna: I was wrong

I was wrong. I say this after too many conversations to count with politicians, candidates, and RNC committeemen and women.

The impression I get from people with a vested interest in the success of the RNC is that McDaniel has done the very best she could do under circumstances that are not favorable to the RNC and has managed to build up trust between the non-Trump and pro-Trump factions within the GOP in a way very few others could thread the needle and build the relationships.

Governors, senators, and congressmen I have talked to say the reality is that the RNC does not matter to them as much as the RGA, the NRSC, and NRCC, not to mention the various groups like the RSLC that focus on the state legislatures and RAGA that focuses on attorneys general races. A Governor who successfully got re-elected in 2022 told me, “The RNC helps at the margins in races like mine and they’re a resource we can call on for help, but my campaign operation won my race and would have with or without the RNC. The RGA played a bigger role. [The RNC] matters more at the presidential level.”

Among state committeemen and women for the RNC, they tell me the problem is not really Ronna and the RNC but at the state level. They point to the problems at the state GOP level in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. One committeewoman, who is not a Trump fan at this point, told me, “Ronna can’t fix Kelli Ward, but Ronna is fantastic at mitigating those types.”