RNC Chair McDaniel Refuses to Blame Trump For GOP Senate Election Losses

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel refuses to blame former President Donald Trump for the GOP failing to reclaim the Senate in November's midterm elections.

McDaniel was pressed Monday morning by Stuart Varney, host of Fox Business's Varney & Co., about whether Trump deserves criticism after losses for endorsed candidates in states including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and New Hampshire.

"Would you publicly say that Donald Trump bears any responsibility for some of the losses in the midterm elections?" Varney asked McDaniel.

McDaniel replied that numerous Trump-endorsed candidates, such as Ted Budd in North Carolina and J.D. Vance in Ohio, were successful in their Senate campaigns.

She also mentioned the RNC analyzing how the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision affected elections nationwide.

"Here's the one thing I think people should be talking about: the amount of ticket splitting," she said.

She pointed to widespread Republican support in Arizona prior to mentioning how eight of nine statewide races in Georgia were won by Republicans.

Herschel Walker was the lone unsuccessful Republican candidate in Georgia following his December 6 runoff election loss to Democrat Raphael Warnock. About 200,000 voters in the original November 8 election split their ticket and voted for both Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Warnock.

"Why are Republicans going and voting for one Republican and not the other?" McDaniel said. "We have to work hard and bring those independents in, but that means turnout was not the issue."

When pressed again by Varney about Trump's role in the GOP election picture, McDaniel again avoided laying direct criticism.

"I'm not into the blame game right now," she responded. "I think we've got to do an analysis, I think it's too quick, and I think you can't parcel out—well this endorsement helped this one and this...it's the whole message, it's what did each candidate do, what was their turnout."

McDaniel, who became chair in January 2017, also mentioned infighting among Republicans. She said the party needs Trump, John McCain and Mitt Romney voters to come together.

McDaniel is the niece of GOP Senator Mitt Romney, who has been vocal about Trump's fingerprint on the Republican Party and previously voted to impeach Trump.

On Monday, Romney again criticized the former president and his role in the GOP once again coming up short in the Senate.

"President Trump lost again," Romney told reporters. "I know a lot of people in our party love the former president, but he's, if you will, the kiss of death for somebody who wants to win a general election.

"And at some point, we've got to move on and look for new leaders that will lead us to win and be able to get that agenda—that frankly President Trump would find an attractive agenda—(and) have that agenda be successful."

While some two-thirds of RNC members endorse McDaniel's reelection this coming January according to Politico, California committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon recently announced her intent to challenge the sitting chair.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who last month stated that McDaniel had "failed in her leadership" and that the party needed "a new input to get a different output," is also challenging McDaniel.

South Carolina Governor Kristi Noem said in late November that she would support new RNC leadership.

"We really all have a responsibility to message what Republican policies bring to this country," Noem said during an appearance on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures. "I don't know if a party can continue to lose like we have and keep their jobs."

RNC spokesperson Nathan Brand told Newsweek that McDaniel has launched a committee of RNC members to conduct a post-election analysis. They are scheduled to meet soon.

Brand also pointed to McDaniel's formation of a new Republican Party Advisory Council "to inform the Republican Party's 2024 vision and beyond."

It includes growing the party with Hispanic, Asian and Black voters, as well as "engaging with suburban women, winning the youth vote, holding Big Tech accountable, supporting law enforcement, and delivering for Americans of faith."