‘We Need New Blood’: DeSantis Rebukes Ronna McDaniel’s RNC Leadership 

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida called for new leadership at the Republican National Committee (RNC) Thursday as the committee prepares to vote on a chair.

“We’ve had 3 substandard election cycles in a row, ‘18, ‘20, and ‘22, and I would say of all of those ‘22 was probably the worst,” DeSantis said during an interview with Charlie Kirk. “Given, the political environment of a very unpopular President Biden, huge majorities in the people think the country’s going in the wrong direction.”

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“That is an environment that’s tailor-made to make big gains in the house and the Senate and state house – state houses all across the country. And yet that didn’t happen and in fact, we even lost ground in the U.S. Senate, and so you know, I think we need a change,” DeSantis continued. “I think we need to get some new blood at the RNC. I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of DC.”

Republicans gained ten seats in the House during the 2022 midterm elections and lost one Senate seat, underperforming expectations of a nation-wide “red wave.” Notable losses included that of Dr. Mehmet Oz to Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and former NFL running back Herschel Walker to Democratic Sen. Rafael Warnock of Georgia, along with retired general Don Bolduc, who failed to unseat Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called the performance “a great night” in a Nov. 9 Fox News appearance. McDaniel faces a re-election fight from Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer and member of the RNC following Republicans in the November mid-term elections. Dhillon blasted McDaniel, telling Politico the RNC “whiffed” in the midterms by failing to support several candidates in close races.

Only 14% of respondents to a Jan. 11 Trafalgar poll supported s fourth term for McDaniel. McDaniel did not respond on the record to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation, but sent endorsements from prominent Republicans in Florida, including Sen. Rick Scott.