Ronna McDaniel

Ronna Romney McDaniel
Chair of the Republican National Committee
Assumed office
January 19, 2017
Preceded by Reince Priebus
Chair of the Michigan Republican Party
In office
February 21, 2015 – January 19, 2017
Preceded by Bobby Schostak
Succeeded by Ron Weiser
Personal details
Born Ronna Romney
(1973-01-19) January 19, 1973
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Patrick McDaniel
Children 2
Parents Scott Romney (father)
Ronna Romney (née Stern; mother)
Relatives See Romney family
Education Brigham Young University (BA)

Ronna Romney McDaniel (born January 19, 1973) is the current Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and former Chair of the Michigan Republican Party. McDaniel is the granddaughter of two-term Michigan Governor and Nixon administration cabinet member George W. Romney and niece of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

As RNC chair, she has been known for her prolific fundraising and staunch support for President Trump.[1][2] Under her leadership, the RNC ran ads for Trump's 2020 campaign as early as in 2018, put numerous Trump campaign workers and affiliates on the RNC payroll, spent considerable funds at Trump-owned properties, covered Trump's legal fees in the Russian interference investigation, hosted Trump's Fake News Awards, and harshly criticized Trump critics within the Republican Party.[1]

Early life, education, and family

On January 19, 1973, McDaniel was born as Ronna Romney in Austin, Texas. McDaniel is the third of five children born to Ronna Stern Romney and Scott Romney, the older brother of Mitt Romney. McDaniel is the grand daughter of three-term Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Romney's mother ran for the senate in 1996 against Carl Levin, served on the Republican National Committee, and was a delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention. Romney's grandmother, Lenore Romney, ran for the senate in 1970.[3] McDaniel's said her career in politics was inspired by her family.[4]

She attended Lahser High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[5] McDaniel earned an undergraduate degree in English from Brigham Young University.[6][7]

McDaniel and her husband, Patrick McDaniel, have two children.[5] They live in Northville, Michigan.[6]

Career

McDaniel worked for SRCP Media as a production manager. She also worked for the production company Mills James as a business manager and as a manager at the staffing firm Ajilon.[8]

McDaniel worked in Michigan for her uncle Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign for President of the United States. She was elected Michigan's representative to the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 2014.[8]

In 2015, McDaniel ran for chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, receiving support from both the party establishment and Tea Party activists. At the party's convention in February 2015, she defeated Norm Hughes and Kim Shmina, receiving 55% of the vote in the first ballot. She succeeded Bobby Schostak as chairwoman and stepped down from her position at the RNC.[9][8]

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, McDaniel served as a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention for Donald Trump.[9] Following the 2016 presidential election, McDaniel became a candidate to chair the Republican National Committee.[10]

McDaniel was an early supporter of Donald Trump. McDaniel had activist Wendy Day removed from her party position as grassroots vice-chair due to her refusal to support Trump.[11]

RNC chair (2016–present)

On November 13, 2016, Reince Priebus, chairman of the RNC, was announced as the new White House Chief of Staff, thereby turning the RNC chairman election into an open seat election. Soon afterward, several candidates were reported as likely to seek the position, including McDaniel.[12]

On December 14, 2016, McDaniel was chosen by then president-elect Trump as his recommendation to replace Priebus.[13][1] She served as deputy chair before her formal election.[11] She was officially elected as RNC chair on January 19, 2017, becoming the second woman to hold the post in RNC history, after Mary Louise Smith.[14] According to the Washington Post, Trump requested that she stop using her maiden name, and McDaniel subsequently did not use it in official communications.[15] McDaniel denies that Trump pressured her to change the name.[7]

The New York Times described McDaniel as "unfailingly loyal to Trump."[2] According to a 2018 study in The Journal of Politics, under her leadership the RNC has sought to consistently promote Trump and his policies.[1] This includes running ads for Trump's 2020 campaign as early as in 2018, putting a considerable number of Trump campaign workers and affiliates on the RNC payroll, spending considerable funds at Trump-owned properties, covering Trump's legal fees in the Russian interference investigation, hosting Trump's "Fake News Awards", and harshly criticizing Trump critics within the Republican Party.[1] The day after Republican congressman Mark Sanford, known for his criticism of Trump, lost his primary against a pro-Trump candidate, McDaniel tweeted that those who do not embrace Trump's agenda "will be making a mistake".[16][17] In April 2018, McDaniel praised Trump as a "moral leader".[18]

Politico reported that after President Trump endorsed Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore just days before the special Alabama Senate election, the White House influenced McDaniel to resume RNC funding for Moore, who lost in a narrow election to Democrat Doug Jones on December 12, 2017. According to two people close to McDaniel, she privately complained about spending time and money on Moore’s behalf. McDaniel was shocked by Trump's decision to endorse Moore but felt that she had little choice but to follow the president's wishes.[19]

In October 2017 after Harvey Weinstein, a major donor to the Democratic Party, was accused of sexual abuse, McDaniel said that "returning Weinstein's dirty money should be a no-brainer". In January 2018, Steve Wynn resigned as RNC finance chairman after he was accused of sexual misconduct and McDaniel came under pressure to return his donations. McDaniel said that Wynn should be allowed "due process" and that his donations would only be returned after the allegations were investigated by the Wynn Resorts board of directors.[20][21][22]

Under McDaniel's leadership, the RNC set up a website in April 2018 which attacked and sought to undermine former FBI Director James Comey and called him "Lyin' Comey".[23] McDaniel said that Comey was a "liar" and a "leaker", and said that the RNC would "make sure the American people understand why he has no one but himself to blame for his complete lack of credibility".[23][24] Tapper also asked McDaniel how the RNC has any "moral ground to question anyone's integrity" when its top executives and associates - Elliott Broidy, Steve Wynn and Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen - are all under investigation for sexual improprieties, arranging hush payments to cover these up, or fraud. Tapper also pointed out the numerous false claims that have been made by President Trump and pointed out the RNC's double standard.[24]

McDaniel spends up to six hours daily calling donors. Under McDaniel’s leadership, the RNC would have what the Washington Post described as “a huge financial edge heading into the 2018 midterm elections.”[25] As of January 2018, the RNC had almost $40 million banked while the Democratic National Committee has a mere $6.3 million.[26] As of July 17, the Republican National Committee had raised about $213 million for the election cycle with $50.7 million in cash on hand and no debt. The Democratic National Committee raised just $101 million during the same period.[27]

In late July 2018, McDaniel falsely[28][29] claimed that Twitter was "shadow banning" Republicans, including herself.[30] Twitter did not shadowban Republicans, but due to a glitch several prominent conservative and left-leaning Twitter accounts were not automatically suggested in the site's drop-down search results.[31][32][30] Twitter responded, saying it would fix the bug.[33]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Heersink, Boris (July 25, 2018). "Trump and the Party-in-Organization: Presidential Control of National Party Organizations". The Journal of Politics: 000–000. doi:10.1086/699336. ISSN 0022-3816.
  2. 1 2 Peters, Jeremy W. (2018). "A Romney Who Is Unfailingly Loyal to Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Latest Romney in politics is not a candidate".
  4. ↑ Bush, Dana (August 9, 2017). "Romney McDaniel: One woman's rise to the top of Republican politics". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Cain, Carol (August 23, 2015). "Latest Romney in politics is not a candidate". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Kelsey, Nancy (March 7, 2012). "Q&A With Northville Resident Ronna Romney McDaniel: Mitt Romney's niece, Ronna Romney McDaniel, spearheaded his campaign in Michigan". Northville Patch. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Burke, Melissa Nann (February 6, 2018). "Trump puts GOP chief's winning streak on line". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 Egan, Paul (February 21, 2015). "Ronna Romney McDaniel elected Michigan's GOP chair". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Spangler, Todd; Gray, Kathleen (July 20, 2016). "Romney McDaniel navigates being Mitt's niece, Trump's delegate". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Trump considering Ronna Romney McDaniel for post". The Detroit News. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Gambino, Lauren; Jacobs, Ben (December 14, 2016). "Next RNC chair to be Ronna Romney McDaniel, Mitt Romney's niece". The Guardian. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  12. ↑ Goldmacher, Shane; Cheney, Kyle (November 14, 2016). "Short list emerges for RNC chair". Politico. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  13. ↑ Spangler, Todd (December 14, 2016). "Trump names Michigan's Ronna Romney McDaniel RNC chair". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ Nelson, Louis (January 19, 2017). "Ronna Romney McDaniel tapped to be new RNC chair". Politico. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  15. ↑ Scherer, Michael; Dawsey, Josh (December 8, 2017). "Trump calls Romney 'a great man,' but works to undermine him and block Senate run". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  16. ↑ Samuels, Brett (June 13, 2018). "GOP chairwoman: Anyone who doesn't support Trump 'will be making a mistake'". TheHill. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  17. ↑ Mazza, Ed (June 14, 2018). "RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel Called Out Over Trump Loyalty Demand". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  18. ↑ CNN, Lauren Garry and Lindsey Ellefson,. "RNC chairwoman points to Syria strike as proof of Trump's moral leadership". CNN. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Eliana; Isenstadt, Alex (December 11, 2017). "How Trump came around to an accused child molester". Politico. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  20. ↑ "RNC chair says group will return Steve Wynn's donations if allegations are true". The Guardian. January 30, 2018.
  21. ↑ Sommer, Will (January 30, 2018). "RNC will keep Wynn money until outside investigation is complete". TheHill.
  22. ↑ Blake, Aaron (January 30, 2018). "Analysis | Republicans draw a very fine line between Steve Wynn and Harvey Weinstein, while keeping Wynn's money". Washington Post.
  23. 1 2 Correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, Senior White House. "Exclusive: Inside the GOP plan to discredit Comey". CNN. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  24. 1 2 Byrnes, Jesse (April 13, 2018). "Tapper asks RNC chief: What gives you 'moral ground' to question Comey's integrity?".
  25. ↑ Lee, Michelle Ye Hee; Narayanswamy, Anu (February 1, 2018). "Republican National Committee has huge financial edge heading into 2018 midterms". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  26. ↑ Peters, Jeremy (January 13, 2018). "A Romney Who Is Unfailingly Loyal to Trump". The New York Times. United States. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  27. ↑ Merica, Dan (July 17, 2018). "Republican National Committee tops $200 million in fundraising ahead of midterms". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Twitter's not "shadow banning" Republicans, but get ready to hear that it is". Nieman Lab. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  29. ↑ "What Is a 'Shadow Ban,' and Is Twitter Doing It to Republican Accounts?". Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  30. 1 2 "RNC Chair Calls for Transparency From Twitter After Alleged 'Shadow Banning' of Republicans". Fox News. July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Twitter Isn't Shadow-Banning Republicans. Here's Why". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Twitter says supposed 'shadow ban' of prominent Republicans is a bug". Engadget. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  33. ↑ Samuels, Brett (July 26, 2018). "Trump: 'We will look into' Twitter for 'shadow banning' Republicans". The Hill. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Bobby Schostak		 Chair of the Michigan Republican Party
2015–2017		 Succeeded by
Ron Weiser
Preceded by
Reince Priebus		 Chair of the Republican National Committee
2017–present		 Incumbent
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