Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R.-Utah), will face a vote of no confidence from the Florida GOP in January.
RNC committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon is challenging McDaniel for the position of chair, according to a report by Slay News.
Florida’s Lake County GOP chair Anthony Sabatini is leading the charge and addressed the upcoming vote.
“Florida’s the most-talked-about Republican state and we’re going to vote Ronna down. It’s going to cause a cascading effect. She’s just steadily losing support. She knows people are just really mad. They all want her gone,” Sabatini said.
“Today I sent a letter with 30 signees to the Chairman of the @FloridaGOP calling for a special meeting of the RPOF in order to vote on whether Ronna McDaniel should be terminated as RNC Chair. As goes Florida, so goes the Nation. [The] Meeting will be held 2 weeks before the RNC vote,” he posted to Twitter.
Today I sent a letter with 30 signees to the Chairman of the @FloridaGOP calling for a special meeting of the RPOF in order to vote on whether Ronna McDaniel should be terminated as RNC Chair
As goes Florida, so goes the Nation
Meeting will be held 2 weeks before the RNC vote pic.twitter.com/Ncjir3yGbc
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) December 21, 2022
“Here are the 30 signees in accordance with Art. 9, Sec. 2. of the RPOF Constitution,” he added. “This letter now mandates that Chairman @JoeGruters to call a special meeting within 30 days. It’s time for the Nation to hear from the Free State of Florida on who should lead the GOP.”
The Republican party leader went on to say, “I believe Harmeet Dhillon @pnjaban is the best person to lead our Party.”
I believe Harmeet Dhillon @pnjaban is the best person to lead our Party
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) December 21, 2022
The petition states, “Ronna McDaniel failed in her position as RNC Chair in the 2022 election cycle and has yielded extremely unimpressive election results for the GOP in the last 3 election cycles.”
Not everyone is against McDaniel, however, and Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters has stated he wants more support for the current RNC chair.
“Whatever we’ve asked for, she has given us,” Gruters said. “Some of the people throwing the stones at Ronna have been the biggest failures in their own states. There should be some self-reflection by these people.”
However, GOP’s national committeeman in Florida, Peter Feaman, said he believes Dhillon might be able to remove McDaniel from her position.
“Harmeet has a lot of support from grassroots members. It’s amazing,” he said.
Leon County Chair Evan Powers also weighed in on the state GOP leader’s support of McDaniel.
“I don’t know where Gruters is getting his political advice from, but it’s bad. The grassroots here doesn’t want Ronna. We’ve had three losses nationwide and that’s enough for a lot of people,” Powers said.
McDaniel’s re-election spokeswoman, Emma Vaughn, said in a statement that support for her campaign has increased and characterized it as “member-driven… because of her unprecedented investments in the grassroots, election integrity, and minority communities, and for taking on Big Tech and the biased Commission on Presidential Debates.”
ZELDIN CALLS RNC ELECTION ‘PRE-BAKED’
Florida isn’t the only place where politicians are looking for new leadership. Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) made it clear he wants “new leadership” for the RNC, threatening to run against her. The New York representative seems concerned, however, that the election is “pre-baked.”
“The issue is Chairwoman McDaniel’s re-election appears to already be pre-baked, as if the disappointing results of every election during her tenure, including yesterday in Georgia, do not and should not even matter,” Zeldin said. “The better path forward would be for Chairwoman McDaniel to listen to and respect the wishes of the actual grassroots voters of our party, and allow the RNC to forge ahead with new leadership.
“Her greatest service to the Republican Party at this time would be to make room for a new chair. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel should not run for a 4th term,” Zeldin said.
“I won’t be running for RNC Chair at this time with McDaniel’s reelection pre-baked by design, but that doesn’t mean she should even be running again. It’s time the GOP elects new leadership! It’s time for fresh blood!” the lawmaker went on. “No matter what, I am committed to doing absolutely everything in my power to help save our country with every ounce of my energy.
“Change is desperately needed, and there are many leaders, myself included, ready and willing to step up to ensure our party retools and transforms as critical elections fast approach, namely the 2024 Presidential and Congressional races.”