Members of the Republican National Committee are responding to the news that Joyce Simmons, committeewoman for Nebraska, resigned her post Monday in response to the RNC renewing its support for Roy Moore.
In an email to her fellow RNC leaders, Simmons wrote: “I strongly disagree with the recent RNC financial support directed to the Alabama Republican Party for use in the Roy Moore race. There is much I could say about this situation, but I will defer to this weekend’s comments by Senator Shelby,” Simmons wrote, invoking Alabama senator Richard Shelby’s statement to CNN on Sunday. His state, Shelby said, “deserves better.” (Shelby previously said he wrote in an unnamed “distinguished” Alabama Republican, not Moore, when he cast his ballot last month.)
Simmons, adding that she would miss her fellow members, also wrote she wished she “could have continued my service to the national Republican Party that I used to know well.”
Five state-level members reacted to the wisdom and significance of Simmons’s decision to resign in protest. Some disapproved of her choice, while others acknowledged her right to resign in protest. One member notably said he wished she’d stuck it out for the party’s sake, but applauded her principled stand.
“I wish she’d stayed,” said Tennessee committeeman Oscar Brock. “Because the party will need her leadership in years to come. Because principled conservatism will always have a place in this party.”
“Joyce did something brave,” Brock added. “And I’m proud of her for that decision.”
New Jersey committeeman Bill Palatucci, a vocal opponent of Moore over the past month, responded that while he’s as opposed to Moore’s candidacy as ever, he’s not going to leave the RNC.
“I’m not resigning,” Palatucci told TWS in an email. “I’ve stated my position that the RNC should not be putting resources into Alabama. The voters of Alabama can decide for themselves without the RNC trying to put its thumb on the scale for Roy Moore.”
Ross Little, Jr.—committeeman from Louisiana—told TWS that, in his view, “Joyce’s resignation was an overreaction.”
Little supports Moore, and he’s glad that now—after withdrawing its support last month, when multiple women came forward with accounts of Moore’s depredations—the RNC does too.
“I’m very pleased the RNC is supporting Judge Moore,” Little said. “I would be at his event tomorrow night in Alabama if I weren’t going to be in Washington.”
Thirteen of Simmons’s fellow RNC members previously told THE WEEKLY STANDARD what they thought of the party’s renewed backing of Moore’s campaign.
Art Wittich, committeeman for the state of Montana, said he too views the RNC’s renewed support for Moore favorably. “Most importantly, the voters of Alabama, who have known Roy Moore for over 60 years, decide who represents them,” he wrote.
Of Simmons’s resignation, Wittich said, “Joyce made a personal decision, which is her right. I know of no one else considering the same.” But there will be no trouble filling Simmons’s seat in the party she “used to know well.”
“I am confident there are many other Republicans in Nebraska who are willing to replace her and serve on the RNC,” Wittich added.
Ohio committeeman Jim Dicke II called Simmons’s resignation “an interesting turn.”
“The heat of a campaign is almost never a time for calm conversations about what would be the right thing,” Dicke said.
In the event of a win for Moore, which Dicke counts as likely, “We have a promised investigation to see if he should be seated or replaced,” referring to the ethics investigation Majority Leader Mitch McConnell previously said a future Senator Moore would have to face.
Of the committeewomen TWS reached for comment on Simmons’s resignation, just one has replied as of this writing.
Cynthia Dunbar of Virginia, who is currently running for Virginia’s 6th congressional district, reached out to TWS through a spokesman to offer a prepared statement.
“I personally do stand with the President, the RNC and Judge Moore. The decision of who should represent the people of Alabama should solely be given to the people of Alabama,” the statement reads. Appearing to anticipate the findings of an ethics investigation, her statement adds, “Additionally, I hope that the choice of the people of Alabama, whatever it may be, will be respected by the U.S. Senate.”
