DeSantis Says RNC Needs ‘New Blood’ after ‘Three Substandard Election Cycles’

Florida governor Ron DeSantis said Thursday it’s time for a “change” at the Republican National Committee, one day before members are set to vote to elect the next committee chair.

Attorney and former Trump campaign adviser Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell are challenging incumbent chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who is seeking a fourth term.

“I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” DeSantis told Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. 

“I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of D.C. Why would you want to have your headquarters in the most Democrat city in America? It’s more Democrat than San Francisco is,” he added. Dhillon sent a letter to RNC members suggesting the committee could open regional offices while keeping their headquarters in Washington.

“We’ve had three substandard 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 in Biden, huge majorities of the people think the country is going in the wrong direction — that is an environment that’s tailor-made to make big gains in the House and the Senate and in state houses all across the country. And yet that didn’t happen,” DeSantis said.

McDaniel faced criticism in the wake of the 2022 midterms after Republicans won only a slim majority in the House and failed to take back the Senate, despite a predicted red wave.

Former GOP Representative Lee Zeldin, who unsuccessfully ran for New York governor in 2022, called for McDaniel to “step aside” after the midterms.

“Now is not the time to say we should just continue with more of the same,” Zeldin said shortly after Election Day. “There’s a lot we need to do better from messaging to fundraising and expenditures, to how we do election tactics and electioneering. There is a lot of feedback from across the country with a desire for fresh blood and new leadership.”

“Our party needs to look to the future… and be better and stronger,” Zeldin said. “With all due respect, I’ve gotten along with her just fine, it is not about personalities, I just believe our party is ready to retool with new leadership.”

While some Republicans had floated Zeldin as a potential replacement for McDaniel, he declined to run for the position.

McDaniel will need to win support from a majority of the RNC’s 168 members to secure reelection. The party will hold a secret ballot during its winter meeting in Southern California on Friday.

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