The typically under-the-radar contest for Republican National Committee co-chairman is unfolding as a high-profile proxy fight between forces loyal to President Trump and those who want to ensure the national party operates independently heading into 2024.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is a shoo-in to win a third term after receiving Trump’s endorsement. It is unusual for an outgoing Republican president to weigh in on RNC leadership decisions, prompting some committee members to worry Trump is angling to maintain his grip on the national party apparatus in advance of a third White House bid four years hence. Those concerns sparked a four-way race for RNC co-chairman.
The current co-chairman, Trump appointee Tommy Hicks Jr., is running for another two-year term and furiously making calls to RNC members to lock up support. Three of the RNC’s 168 voting members are running to oust him. Some RNC insiders are concerned the rules governing the 2024 primary could be rigged for Trump. Bruce Hough, the RNC committeeman from Utah, said his candidacy was motivated in part by a desire to preserve the national party’s neutrality in that contest.
“Tommy’s been a good co-chair but comes with perception that he was placed there by the White House,” Hough told the Washington Examiner on Saturday during a telephone interview. Hicks Jr. has close ties to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, who at one point was mentioned as a potential successor to McDaniel.
“We only have one defined statutory requirement,” Hough added, “and that is to organize and hold a nominating convention every four years. It’s incumbent on the committee to make sure it’s fair and open to all comers.”
Hicks Jr. declined to comment. McDaniel, who informed the four contenders she would not pick a favorite in the race, also declined an interview request. In addition to Hicks Jr. and Hough, the field includes Doyle Webb, Arkansas GOP chairman and RNC general counsel, and Jay Shepard, RNC committeeman from Vermont. Webb could have an inside track to support from RNC members from states across the southeast and southwest, committee sources said, a potentially significant advantage.
Trump enjoys broad support among voting RNC members. Many were installed over the past four years through an aggressive effort to place Trump loyalists on the committee overseen by Bill Stepien and Justin Clark, the president’s campaign manager and deputy campaign manager, respectively. Despite losing reelection to Joe Biden, there is lingering gratitude for Trump because of his political accomplishments and what he achieved as a policymaker.
The outgoing president lost the popular vote — again. Trump also became the first Republican since 1992 to lose Arizona and Georgia. But his more than 74 million votes were the second-most in history behind Biden’s 81 million-plus and helped Republicans boost their numbers in the House and limit losses in the Senate. That showing was bolstered by a strengthening of the GOP’s relationship with blue-collar voters and an increase in support from ethnic minorities.
“Grassroots support for Trump is important,” said Morton Blackwell, a veteran RNC member and committeeman from Virginia who is backing Hicks for co-chairman. “If he does seek to run, he’s going to have a significant advantage.”
Blackwell is not operating under the assumption that Trump lost reelection to Biden, citing the president’s several legal challenges to the results in various states. But if that is the case, Blackwell said, he expects that the RNC would host a 2024 presidential primary that is fair to all candidates. “I believe that Ronna, if she is the chairman, is going to keep her word and act in an even-handed way,” Blackwell said.
The four contenders for RNC co-chairman will have an opportunity to make their case to party members Wednesday during a virtual forum on Zoom hosted jointly by the RNC’s conservative steering committee and conservative caucus. When the committee chooses a co-chairman during an annual winter business meeting in January, multiple rounds of voting will be held until one contender emerges with majority support.
As with most aspects of the Trump era, the 45th president’s desire to stay active politically and influence the inner workings of the national party is unusual. George W. Bush essentially retired from politics after serving two terms, and George H.W. Bush before him did the same after being defeated by Bill Clinton after one term. In that regard, McDaniel, originally a Trump appointee, surprised members with her decision to seek a third term.
Trump’s quick backing of McDaniel also was unexpected and was interpreted by many party insiders as an attempt to control the RNC post-presidency. That suggestion has left some members otherwise supportive of the president apprehensive about the future of the committee. McDaniel, cognizant of those anxieties, is inviting a handful of prominent Republicans known to be interested in running for president in 2024 to address the RNC’s winter meeting.
“The injection of Ronna to go another two years was a little jolting,” an RNC member said.
