Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a change in leadership at the Republican National Committee (RNC), Fox News reported Thursday.
And Alabama’s GOP national committeeman agrees that the stakes of the chairman’s race are high.
“It appears Governor DeSantis is fully aware of our current plight, and he sees what Republicans in Alabama and Florida already know,” said Paul Reynolds, one of three RNC members from the state.
“This is the first political battle of the 2024 season,” he told Yellowhammer News. “It is a struggle for leadership of the RNC, and it determines how national Republicans view the platform.”
Republicans adopt their platform every four years at the party’s presidential nominating convention. The contents of the document have often been a point of contention among RNC members.
Reynolds sees the race for chairman as an extension of the battle to preserve the party’s ideological position.
“We currently have one of the most conservative documents ever created as a platform,” he said. “However, it is being trampled on by the very organization designated to carry it out.”
That’s why he welcomes the Florida governor’s involvement in the race.
DeSantis, the popular Sunshine State governor and aspiring presidential candidate, made known his preference for a new chairman of the RNC just a day ahead of the organization’s vote on the position.
“We’ve had three sub-standard election cycles in a row – ’18, ’20 and ’22 – and I would say of all three of those, ’22 was probably the worst given the political environment of a very unpopular President Biden,” DeSantis said. “Huge majorities of the people think the country is going in the wrong direction.
“That is an environment that is tailor-made to make big gains in the House and the Senate and state houses all across the country and yet that didn’t happen, and in fact, we even lost ground in the U.S. Senate.
“And so, I think we need a change. I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC.”
This month, the steering committee of the Alabama Republican Party passed a resolution of no-confidence in RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, who is seeking a fourth term. Also on the ballot are Harmeet Dhillon, an RNC committee member from California; and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
McDaniel has garnered endorsements from more than 100 members of the Republican National Committee, Fox News reported. A simple majority of the 168 members is required for election.
