Republican Party Rejects Harmeet Dhillon As Head, Re-elects Ronna McDaniel
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (IANS) – Harmeet Dhillon lost her bid to head the Republican National Committee (RNC). The current RNC chair Ronna McDaniel was re-elected on January 27 at the Committee’s meeting in California despite criticism for having led the party through three successive defeats and an underperformance.
Dhillon polled 51 votes to McDaniel’s 111 in the 168-member RNC. The race however brought exposed discontent in the ranks of the party that must face a presidential election next year.
After the election, Dhillon said, “At the end of the day, if our party is perceived as totally out of touch with the grassroots, which I think some may take away from this outcome, we have some work to do.”
The run-up to the RNC election was marred by allegations that McDaniel’s supporters had run a whispering campaign against Dhillon based on her Sikh faith.
Dhillon, tweeted during the campaign: “No number of threats to me or my team, or bigoted attacks on my faith traceable directly to associates of the chair, will deter me from advancing positive change at the RNC.” McDaniel however condemned the efforts to use religion against Dhillon citing her own membership in the minority Mormon faith that is often portrayed negatively.
Dhillon received the support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a rising figure in the party and a likely challenger to former President Donald Trump for the party’s presidential nomination next year. Endorsing Dhillon, DeSantis said in an interview with the leader of a conservative group within the party, “I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC”.
Dhillon had picked up support from two state committees, Nevada and Washington, the heads of the party in four states and some high-profile party donors, as well as media figures influential within the party.
Trump who had connections to both McDaniel and Dhillon stayed neutral in the open, but according to some media reports secretly backed the incumbent.
He had picked McDaniel in 2017 to head the RNC, while Dhillon was one of his lawyers during the last presidential election and the House probe into the January 2021 Capitol riots.
McDaniel is seen as closely aligned herself with Trump and while Dhillon has not openly gone against him, she repudiated Trump’s continued claim that he was the rightful winner in 2020.
But many conservative diehard Trump supporters backed Dhillon, and this may have turned off some of the moderate voters. According to Politico, many had reservations about one “firebrand conservative figure” Charlie Kirk who they feared might exert influence on the party if she were elected.
Anil
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Work starts with Dhillon first accepting her loss and supporting the person who won. She would have accepted the same.
January 30, 2023Anil
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Sorry Dhillon!
As an Indian I would have so much liked you to have won but religion defines how one would have worked.
Besides, Guru Nanak or Guru Gobind Sigh would have never allowed a woman as a “SIKH”.
January 30, 2023Argue all you want but they did not want a woman fighting.
VIJAY
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That was in the past. Look who replaced Ms. Dillion – a woman. Guru Nanak has nothing to do with event in the 21st Century. The fact remains that the Republican Part has a tacit racist fiber that cannot be ignored.
January 30, 2023Vinod Pallath
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I agree with the remark of Harmeet Dhillon, “…our party is perceived as totally out of touch with the grassroots…” As an example, many registered Republicans did not know anything about the RNC election in spite of being members of the party as well as contributors. So much for grassroots participation of the Grand Ole’ Party.
Republican party establishment has excellent ideas, excellent candidates, and money. However, many aspects of party governance as well as selection of candidates continue to be a cloak and dagger proposition. Had it not been for the insane policies and inept performance of the Democratic Party, the Republicans would have even more trouble.
That said, it is time for Harmeet Dhillon to graciously accept the verdict of the Party without conditions or equivocation, support the nominee and work hard to bring more republicans into the governance of the Golden State. She will have many more opportunities for leadership in the future. Class is grace under pressure; this is the time to be classy.
It is wise to remember the example of a former California Republican who lost the state level election for governor and famously declared that the Press will not have him “to kick around anymore” but got elected to the White House six years later. Time has a way of reshaping opinions and perceptions as well as reinventing opportunities.
January 30, 2023G. Kaloorian
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The heading of the story shows a distinct and unnecessary bias through the use of the title “The Republican Party rejects Harmeet Dhillon.”
The more professional headline would have been either “Harmeet Dhillon loses the Republican Party election” or “Ronna McDaniel wins Republic Party election in spite of a strong showing by Harmeet Dhillon.”
January 30, 2023