Politics

REPORT: Harmeet Dhillon Preparing To Challenge Ronna McDaniel For GOP Chair

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James Lynch Contributor
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RNC Committeewoman and California attorney Harmeet Dhillon is preparing a bid to be the next Republican National Committee (RNC) chair, according to a Dec. 4 Politico report.

Dhillon has been talking to prospective RNC members about a run against incumbent Chair Ronna McDaniel, and a formal launch could come in the next few days, Politico reported.

Dhillon is the founder of the business and constitutional law firm Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty, a civil liberties organization. She is chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association and formerly chaired the San Francisco Republican Party.

Her law firm has represented former President Donald Trump and is currently working with GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, according to Dhillon’s website and Twitter activity. She has also conducted litigation surrounding the 2020 election and represented multiple witnesses called before the House’s Jan. 6 committee, Politico previously reported.

McDaniel received support from more than 100 of the committee’s 168 members in an open letter ahead of the RNC’s January 2023 winter meeting. A simple majority of members is needed to win the election.

She has been RNC chair since 2017 and would be the longest-serving party chair in more than a century if she wins reelection for a third term, according to Politico. (RELATED: Newt Gingrich Warns Republicans: Quit ‘Underestimating’ Biden)

A spokesperson for McDaniel cited the open letter and McDaniel’s other endorsements in response to inquiries from the Daily Caller. McDaniel received endorsements from Maryland RNC Committeeman David Bossie and former RNC Chair Reince Preibus, the spokesperson specified.

Dhillon did not immediately respond to the Caller’s request for comment.

She told Politico that “[a]fter three successive terms of underwhelming results at the polls for the GOP, all the while with leaders congratulating ourselves for outstanding performance, I feel that we owe it to our voters to have a serious debate about the leadership of the party and what we must change to actually win in 2024.” On Tuesday afternoon, she tweeted that she would be appearing on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that evening to discuss “the leadership of the Republican Party.”

GOP New York gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin is also “very seriously considering” running for RNC chair, while MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has launched a long-shot bid for the position.