Donald Trump Taps Michigan GOP Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel to Lead RNC

Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, who helped Donald Trump score a crucial win in Michigan, has been tapped by the president-elect to lead the Republican National Committee, according to reports.

Michigan hasn’t backed a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, when voters supported former President George H.W. Bush. Romney will become only the second woman in history to lead the RNC and the second Michigander. Mary Louise Smith of Iowa was the first female GOP chair, serving from 1974–1977, and Michigander Arthur E. Summerfield led the party from 1952-1953.

Romney, 43, backed Trump despite searing criticism of Trump by her uncle, Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee and a former governor of Massachusetts. In March, Romney condemned Trump as a “con man and a fake” but was on the short list for consideration for secretary of state, a position Trump has since offered to ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson.

The selection of McDaniel to lead the RNC hasn’t been made public yet, but The Detroit News said a person familiar with the matter confirmed Trump’s decision.

During a victory lap that took Trump to Grand Rapids, Michigan, Friday, Trump credited McDaniel for delivering the state’s 16 electoral votes. “I was very impressed with you,” he said. “She didn’t sleep for six months.”

At the rally, McDaniel said Michigan voters proved naysayers wrong.

“They said a Republican could never win Michigan,” McDaniel said. “I knew better. You knew better and Donald Trump knew better.”

Former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, has long backed McDaniel as his replacement.

McDaniel, who has led the Michigan GOP since 2015, helped lead the effort to stop the recount of 4.8 million presidential ballots in Michigan.

Photos: Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore via Flickr Commons and Ronna Romney McDaniel via Michigan Republican Party