Driving debate at last week’s Republican National Committee meeting was one big question: Can the official party apparatus truly be neutral in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries? For years, the RNC has been closely tied to former President Donald Trump’s political operation, but in the coming cycle, a number of serious candidates beyond Trump are expected to enter the field.
Neutrality was front and center in the contested race for chair, in which, on Friday, Ronna McDaniel — originally handpicked by Trump for the role — was able to cruise to re-election for a fourth term heading the RNC, much of which has been remade under the former president. Trump’s third bid for the White House places the RNC at the center of a situation unprecedented in modern times: a former president running in a contested major-party primary campaign.
Members here at the RNC’s winter meeting were cautious about offering Trump outward support, and McDaniel and her lead challenger, Harmeet Dhillon — an RNC committeewoman from California and an attorney whose law firm has represented Trump in recent years — pledged to lead the party in a neutral manner, in accordance with RNC bylaws, as the primary season begins to heat up.
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Article URL : https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/rnc-independent-trump-2024-rcna68039