Ronna Romney McDaniel (née Romney; born March 20, 1973) is an American political strategist who served as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2017 until her resignation in 2024. A member of the Republican Party and the Romney family, McDaniel was chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017.
During McDaniel's tenure as chair of the RNC, the Republican Party lost eight governorships, four seats in the United States Senate, 20 seats in the House of Representatives, and the presidency. In December 2022, Axios wrote that McDaniel "has thus far failed to preside over a single positive election cycle."
McDaniel is a granddaughter of Michigan Governor and businessman George W. Romney and a niece of Massachusetts Governor and U.S. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. She is known for her prolific fundraising and staunch support for former President Donald Trump while RNC chair. Under her leadership, the RNC ran ads for Trump's 2020 campaign as early as 2018, placed numerous Trump campaign workers and affiliates on the RNC payroll, spent considerable funds at Trump-owned properties, covered Trump's legal fees during the Russian interference investigation, hosted the Fake News Awards, and criticized Trump critics within the Republican Party.
McDaniel and the RNC made claims of voter fraud after Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, which Trump refused to concede and attempted to overturn. She directed the RNC to help organize fake electors for Trump at the request of Trump and John Eastman. In 2022, McDaniel orchestrated a censure of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, two Republicans who were on the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. The censure characterized the violent pro-Trump mob as having engaged in "legitimate political discourse".
On February 26, 2024, McDaniel announced her resignation as RNC chair on advice from Donald Trump following his victory in the 2024 South Carolina Republican presidential primary. Her term as chair of the RNC ended March 8. McDaniel served as an NBC News on-air political contributor for less than a week in March 2024.
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Early life and education
McDaniel was born Ronna Romney on March 20, 1973, in Austin, Texas. The third of five children born to Ronna Stern Romney and Scott Romney, the older brother of Mitt Romney, McDaniel is a granddaughter of three-term Michigan Governor George W. Romney. Her mother ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996 against Carl Levin, served on the Republican National Committee, and was a delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention. Romney's grandmother, Lenore Romney, ran for the U.S. Senate in 1970. McDaniel has said her career in politics was inspired by her family.
She attended Lahser High School in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, and earned an undergraduate degree in English from Brigham Young University.
Career
McDaniel worked for SRCP Media as a production manager. She also worked for the production company Mills James as a business manager and as a manager at the staffing firm Ajilon.
McDaniel worked in Michigan for her uncle Mitt's 2012 campaign for President of the United States. She was elected Michigan's representative to the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 2014. In 2015, McDaniel ran to be chair of the Michigan Republican Party, receiving support from both the party establishment and Tea Party activists. At the party's convention in February 2015, she defeated Norm Hughes and Kim Shmina, receiving 55% of the vote in the first ballot. She succeeded Bobby Schostak as chair and stepped down from her position at the RNC.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, McDaniel served as a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention for Donald Trump. Following the 2016 presidential election, McDaniel became a candidate to chair the Republican National Committee. McDaniel was an early supporter of Donald Trump. McDaniel had activist Wendy Day removed from her party position as grassroots vice-chair due to her refusal to support Trump.
RNC chair
During McDaniel's tenure as chair of the RNC, the Republican Party had a net loss of seven governorships, three seats in the United States Senate, 19 seats in the House of Representatives, and the presidency. In December 2022, Axios wrote that McDaniel "has thus far failed to preside over a single positive election cycle."
On February 6, 2024, The New York Times reported that McDaniel intended to resign after the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, following dissatisfaction from Trump, who publicly supported North Carolina Republican Party chair Michael Whatley. South Carolina Republican Party chair and Republican National Committee Co-Chair Drew McKissick had also been mentioned as a replacement in several news outlets.
On November 13, 2016, Reince Priebus, chairman of the RNC, was announced as the new White House Chief of Staff, thereby turning the RNC chairman election into an open seat election. Soon afterward, several candidates were reported as likely to seek the position, including McDaniel. On December 14, 2016, McDaniel was chosen by then president-elect Trump as his recommendation to replace Priebus. She served as deputy chair before her formal election. She was officially elected as RNC chair on January 19, 2017, by unanimous vote, becoming the second woman (after Mary Louise Smith) in RNC history to hold the post. According to The Washington Post, Trump requested that she stop using her maiden name, and McDaniel subsequently did not use it in official communications. McDaniel denies that Trump pressured her to change the name.
McDaniel was re-elected as RNC chair in unanimous elections in both 2019 and 2021, with the endorsement of Trump in both elections.
On January 27, 2023, McDaniel was re-elected to stand as the Chair for the RNC going into the 2024 U.S. presidential election, fending off challenges from Harmeet Dhillon and Mike Lindell and winning a fourth term. After her victory, McDaniel stated that she would not seek a fifth term as RNC Chair and further announced she would resign on advice from Donald Trump after he won the 2024 South Carolina Republican presidential primary. She was the longest-serving RNC chair since the Civil War. Her term ended on March 8, 2024.
In 2018, McDaniel spent up to six hours daily calling donors. Under McDaniel's leadership, the RNC had what The Washington Post described as "a huge financial edge heading into the 2018 midterm elections". As of January 2018, the RNC had almost $40 million banked while the Democratic National Committee had $6.3 million. As of July 17, the Republican National Committee had raised about $213 million for the election cycle with $50.7 million in cash on hand and no debt. In comparison, the Democratic National Committee raised $101 million during the same period. After many white suburban female voters switched to vote for Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, McDaniel said that the party would engage in a "deep data dive" to learn why.
Later career
On March 22, 2024, NBC News announced that it had hired McDaniel as a contributor. Many of the network's hosts publicly opposed the hiring, due to her statements about the 2020 election, which included instances of undermining journalism and attacks on journalistic integrity. Four days later, NBC reversed its decision and parted ways with McDaniel.
On May 29, 2025, it was announced that McDaniel would serve as CEO of the new DeVos family-backed Michigan Forward Network, which would help elect Republicans in Michigan.
Personal life
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she has two children with her husband, Patrick McDaniel. They live in Northville, Michigan.
