After Gov Loss, Lee Zeldin Will Not Challenge McDaniel For RNC Chair

LONG ISLAND, NY — Rep. Lee Zeldin, who recently lost a bid for governor by a narrow margin, announced Wednesday that he won't challenge Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel for her seat.

“I won’t be running for RNC Chair at this time with McDaniel’s reelection pre-baked by design, but that doesn’t mean she should even be running again," he said.

According to Politico, McDaniel, who was former President Donald Trump's choice to chair the committee, has indicated that she will run again and if she wins, she would lead through the 20204 presidential election.

Zeldin said he is grateful for all the messages he has received from across the country the past few weeks encouraging him to run for chair of the Republican National Committee.

"Change is desperately needed, and there are many leaders, myself included, ready and willing to step up to ensure our party retools and transforms as critical elections fast approach, namely the 2024 presidential and congressional races. However, the issue is Chairwoman McDaniel's re-election appears to already be pre-baked, as if the disappointing results of every election during her tenure, including yesterday in Georgia, do not and should not even matter."

Projections indicate that Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock will defeat GOP challenger Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff election.

"No matter what, I am committed to doing absolutely everything in my power to help save our country with every ounce of my energy," Zeldin said. "As for the Republican Party, it must become more successful at fundraising, more efficient with spending, sharper with ballot collection and election integrity efforts, smarter with messaging, more present in Democrat strongholds, and more connected to the grassroots."

The RNC, Zeldin believes, must collaborate more with state and local organizations, take more risks in changing for the better, and allow fresh blood and new leadership to rise through its ranks. The Republican Party must more heavily lean into candidate recruitment, campaign management, volunteer engagement, and voter registration, he said.

"We must also do a far better job communicating not just what we are against related to the terrible policies of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, but specifically what we are for as Republicans. The way to earn votes from Democrat and Independent voters is not by acting like Democrats, but by being proud Republicans articulating why we stand for the positions we are most passionate about," Zeldin said. "That is how to create a movement."

The Republican Party has the ideas the nation needs now to deliver safer streets, upward economic mobility, better schools, and the preservation of freedom and liberty, Zeldin said in a statement. The Republican Party needs to be all in to do everything in its power to "save America", he added.

As for the election of an RNC Chair, the way the process works is that a candidate must receive a majority vote of the 168 members of the RNC, consisting of a chair, committeeman, and committeewoman from each of the 50 states and six territories, Zeldin explained.

"That is why I have been taking the time to speak with these members to gauge their desire to change and improve the RNC," he said.

But, Zeldin added: "The grassroots is frustrated, deflated and defeated. They are tired of coming up short like what happened again just yesterday. It is time for our party to retool, transform, and win back the presidency in 2024, expand our number of Republican held seats in Congress, and win the maximum number of down ballot races across the country."

However, he added: "By design, there are massive barriers to avoid a change in leadership. Republican voters already believe that Washington, D.C. is an irredeemable swamp. They will be proven right, yet again, if Chairwoman McDaniel moves forward with running for a fourth term, despite her prior pledge not to do so. It appears to me that her re-election with a majority vote from the 168 RNC members would then be pre-determined."

Instead, Zeldin believes McDaniel should step down and allow the RNC to forge ahead with new leadership.

"Her greatest service to the Republican Party at this time would be to make room for a new chair," Zeldin said.

The Hill announced that on Monday, a former campaign Trump attorney, Harmeet Dhillon from California, would challenge McDaniel for the position, stating that recent GOP losses meant an overhaul was needed.