Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, is vying to lead the Republican National Committee, which puts him on a collision course with Ronna McDaniel.
“I’m 100% running for the RNC chairman against Ronna McDaniel, 100%, I am all in Steve,” he said Monday on former Trump insider Steve Bannon’s show on Real America’s Voice. “One of the big donors said to me, he said, ‘Mike everyone wants you to be the head of the RNC some of them just don’t know it yet.’
However, Mr. Lindell would have a difficult time defeating Ms. McDaniel despite the party’s apparent increasing thirst for change. She has served as the RNC’s chairwoman since 2017 and is a close friend of former President Donald Trump. Mr. Lindell has been one of Mr. Trump’s most outspoken supporters, and he frequently speaks at the former president’s campaign events.
According to Politico, McDaniel announced earlier this month that she intends to run for reelection to the leadership role. However, she may face another potential challenge from Representative Lee Zeldin (R-New York), who was defeated in the race for governor of New York by the currently serving Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul.
Although Zeldin did not win the election, he was the most successful Republican candidate in New York since the race between George Pataki and Mario Cuomo in 1994. Zeldin received just under 350,000 fewer votes than the incumbent Democratic governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, only a 5% difference.
Zeldin, an attorney and officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, was first elected to the House in 2014, representing a congressional district in Suffolk County covering the eastern end of New York’s Long Island. Zeldin was a strong supporter of former President Trump during Trump’s tenure in the White House.
A few weeks ago, RNC co-chair Tommy Hicks said he would not seek a third-straight two-year term as co-chair. When the national party organization meets its winter meeting in January, the whole membership of the RNC, which consists of 168 committee members, will vote on who will serve as the next chair. According to the regulations of the party, the two most senior positions must be held by a man and a woman.
As conservatives evaluate their lackluster performance in this year’s midterm elections, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem stated that she would back new GOP leadership over the reelection Ronna McDaniel.
Last week, former RNC Chair Reince Priebus distributed a letter demonstrating that Ms. McDaniel has over 100 RNC members’ support, which is sufficient to maintain her position. McDaniel has not publically indicated if she will seek reelection or not, although its safe to assume she is.
The next RNC chair term will run through the 2024 presidential election.
