Hit and Ronna

Ronna McDaniel
People around Trump are pushing for a campaign insider to reign over the R.N.C. and replace Ronna Romney McDaniel, the longest serving chair in its history. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Tara Palmeri
January 25, 2024

Ronna Romney McDaniel can’t catch a break. The longest-serving Republican National Committee chair in history, and the second woman to ever hold the position, will have another uncomfortable moment next week when she unveils the organization’s latest financials at the annual winter meeting.

According to a source with knowledge of the books, the R.N.C. is expected to report that it still only has about $9 million in cash on hand, around the same sum that was reported in the last two filings—and probably not quite what presumptive nominee Donald Trump was hoping for as a general interest campaign fund. In 2016, of course, the R.N.C. had about $18 million in cash on hand after chairman Reince Priebus cleaned up the books and took out a line of credit. But due to lackluster enthusiasm from small and large donors alike, plus an expensive election integrity operation, the money is not coming in as quickly as it’s bleeding out. “We’re not in as strong of a position as we’d like to be. Certainly, fundraising is way below what we’ve hoped,” said national committee member Oscar Brock of Tennessee, who voted for Daniels challenger Harmeet Dhillon last year. “We’ve managed to get by fairly successfully, but it would be better if we had more cushion.”