DeSantis takes veiled shot at McDaniel in call for ‘new blood’ at RNC
Ryan King
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waded into the heated battle for the Republican National Committee chairmanship, calling for “new blood.”
Alluding to the lackluster GOP midterm outing, DeSantis contended that the RNC is in need of significant reforms and lavished praise on conservative attorney Harmeet Dhillon, while refraining from outright endorsing her in the contest against incumbent Ronna McDaniel.
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“I think we need a change, I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC. I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of DC,” DeSantis said in an interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “We need some fresh thinking.”
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McDaniel is the favorite heading into the contest, having led the RNC throughout the Trump years and enjoys the backing of many high-ranking RNC members. Dhillon has been optimistic that she can undercut her rival and has pointed to the GOP’s string of disappointing elections in 2018, 2020, and 2022, something DeSantis also took note of when opining on the RNC skirmish.
“We’ve had three substandard election cycles in a row, ’18, ’20, and ’22, and I’d say ’22 was the worst given the political environment of a very unpopular president,” DeSantis said. “That is an environment that’s tailor-made to make big gains in the House and the Senate and state houses across the country and yet, that didn’t happen.”
McDaniel has rejected the “blame game” that followed the 2022 midterm cycle. Republicans were expected to sail to a smashing victory in the House, but only barely managed to clinch a majority and lost a seat in the Senate. Florida emerged as a rare bright spot for the GOP in the midterm elections, something that the governor has sought to capitalize on as he weighs a possible 2024 presidential bid.
His biggest 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump, who announced his campaign last November, has abstained from backing a candidate in the RNC contest. Both Trump and DeSantis have consistently polled as the top GOP contenders in the 2024 presidential contest.
DeSantis also took aim at the location of the RNC headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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“It’s more democrat than San Francisco is. So, I think you get it in real parts of the country. You attract people who want to want to live in those parts of the country, not D.C. insiders,” he added. “I think it’s going to be very difficult to energize people to want to give money, to want to volunteer their time with the RNC if they don’t see a change in direction.”
The RNC leader is set to be chosen on Friday.