Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican National Committee member from California, announced Monday night that she is running for RNC chair against three-term party leader Ronna McDaniel.
“I am going to run for RNC chair. And the reason is that, to play off of a famous catchphrase, Republicans are tired of losing, and I think that we really need to radically reshape our leadership in order to win. And we can’t keep running elections like we did in the 90s and the 2000s,” Ms. Dhillon, who was a legal adviser to the Trump 2020 presidential campaign, said in an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Monday.
“We really have to modernize to compete with the Democrats dollar-for-dollar — in the ways they fundraise, the way they deliver their ballots to the ballot boxes. Our messaging needs to be fresh and positive and not just reactive to news cycles and what the Democrats are doing,” she said.
“I think that the party needs to realize that the party has become a populist party. The base of the party demands populist messages that speak to them and not Chamber of Commerce messages, not neocon messages, not warmonger messages,” Ms. Dhillion said, warning also that “I’m afraid that the base of our party is not getting what it needs from our leadership.”
Elected to chair the Republican National Lawyers Association in late 2021, Ms. Dhillon is the former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party, and a California member of the Republican National Committee.
She is the founder of the law firm Dhillon Law Group Inc. and helped launch the nonprofit Center for American Liberty in 2018, which does legal work related to civil liberties, and was selected for the California Republican Party’s Board in 2013. Ms. Dhillon is also a co-chair of Women for Trump.
Ms. McDaniel’s supporters on Monday afternoon circulated a letter of endorsement from 107 RNC officials around the country.
“We, the undersigned members of the Republican National Committee, are proud to offer our endorsement for your re-election as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. These are perilous times and the Biden presidency, abetted by the extremist consensus among Democrat Party elites and elected officials, has been, is, and will continue to be a disaster for our nation,” the letter stated.
“We believe we must elect a Republican President and more Republican Senators and House members in 2024 to restore, preserve, and protect the United States of America,” the signatories wrote.
In a statement to The Washington Times, North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley said that “Ronna McDaniel has grown our Party from the grassroots up: from building a permanent national ground game and establishing a year-round Election Integrity operation to expanding minority outreach and transferring more funds than ever to all 56 states and territories.”
He added, “I am proud to join the nearly two-thirds of RNC members in endorsing her re-election and I look forward to working alongside her to strengthen our Party and country for the next two years.”
David Bossie, an RNC committee member from Maryland and one of the letter’s signers, said in an earlier public endorsement of Ms. McDaniel that “from finding a new and fair platform for our nominee to debate, to ensuring a successful nominating process, to putting on a convention for the next President of the United States, the RNC needs a proven leader.”
“A proven leader who understands that a healthy national party starts from the grassroots up. Ronna McDaniel is the leader we need,” he said.
The election for chair, which is decided by majority vote, is scheduled for late January in Dana Point, California, at the RNC‘s annual winter meeting.
Others have expressed an interest in challenging Ms. McDaniel, after Republicans promised a “red wave” to sweep House elections, though they won a slim majority, but failed to win back the Senate two years after President Trump lost his reelection bid.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, former New York GOP gubernatorial candidate, said Sunday on Fox News that Republicans need to explain to voters what they support, not just that they are against President Biden’s agenda.
He also wants to see Republicans spreading their message to deep blue Democratic areas of the country.
“I think it’s really important as we look forward that Republicans are not just saying that we’re against Joe Biden, there’s plenty to criticize Democratic party policies, but what do we stand for,” he said.
“Work ethic is key, and ensuring that we’re not just going to the places where we do the best to improve and increase Republican engagement and turnout, but to go to places where they haven’t seen Republicans in a really long time,” Mr. Zeldin said.
He plans to announce his plans for RNC chair following the Georgia Senate runoff on Tuesday.
I’ve been seriously considering your requests to run for RNC Chair. I will announce my decision at 8am EST on December 7th, waiting until Wednesday to keep the focus on the Georgia runoff,” he tweeted Monday night. “If you live in Georgia, please vote for Herschel Walker.”
Last week, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, announced he too will run for chair of the RNC.
Mr. Lindell, who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election results, is under investigation by federal authorities for election tampering, and the FBI seized his phone in September.
He says his bid for the RNC post was motivated by supporters who urged him to do so.
“One of the big donors said to me, ‘Mike, everybody wants you to be head of the RNC, some of them just don’t know it yet,’” the MyPillow founder said.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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