Although some members of the Republican National Committee have expressed confidence that Ronna McDaniel will be successful in her bid for another term as committee chair, she is facing at least one prominent challenger ahead of January’s vote.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has been open about his intention to vie for the RNC leadership position and expounded on his platform in a recent Newsmax interview.
"I am 100% running for the RNC chairman against Ronna McDaniel"
— MyPillow CEO and election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell announces his bid for RNC chair following an endorsement by Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/viYDhxZKXI
— The Recount (@therecount) November 28, 2022
Citing a series of GOP electoral disappointments in 2018, 2020, and the recent midterms, he concluded that the party needs to pursue a new direction.
“That’s three Fs in a row,” he said. “And when you’re CEO or head of any company, you’re out. You don’t get three chances like that. Ronna McDaniel has failed. She has done nothing but fail.”
Noting that he conducted ample research before concluding that McDaniel bears a significant amount of blame for recent Republican losses, Lindell said that “her own people in Michigan” are “disgusted with her, and there’s big holes in the boat.”
In order to build a more successful future and convince donors that the party is worth supporting, he said that it is necessary to “change the input” at the very top.
“You’ve got to change the status quo to get something different,” he said. “And these donors … are going to ask, ‘Hey, why should we put another dime into the RNC?”
Furthermore, he claimed that McDaniel did not go far enough to pursue claims of election fraud, noting: “She raised a bunch of money for election integrity, and never spent a dime toward it — and that’s the biggest thing I’m hearing is she lied to the American people.”
As for why he believes he is up for the job, Lindell pointed to his ability to build and maintain a successful company despite significant setbacks.
“I’ve proven what I can do,” he said. “I’ve got businesses, 2,000 employees. When I came up against adversity and my footprint of this country changes — like just for example — just Walmart dropping me in May, I had to make a decision, you know, to not lay off employees. They have families and such.”
Lindell said he was able to adapt to the changing situation, which is what he believes the RNC needs to do now.
The next RNC chair will need support from a majority of the committee’s 168 members. Earlier this month, insiders indicated that roughly 100 members had expressed an intention to vote for McDaniel, but it remains to be seen how a challenge from Lindell — and potentially other Republicans, such as U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) — could affect her chances.
