When President-elect Donald Trump announced that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus would be his White House chief of staff, speculation began running as to who would be his replacement.
Traditionally, presidents are entitled to hand-pick their party chairs. In the case of Trump, the wait is over. Michigan GOP Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel will serve as deputy chair, while Republican strategist Bob Paduchik, who led the president-elect’s campaign in Ohio, will serve as deputy co-chair.
According to an RNC press release Wednesday evening, their nominations will be forwarded to the Executive Committee “in the coming days.” The release also included a number of comments from GOP leaders.
“I’m excited to have a highly effective leader in Ronna McDaniel as RNC deputy chair, and I look forward to her serving as the party’s chairman in 2017,” Trump said. “Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, and I know she will bring the same passion to the Republican National Committee.”
“Bob Paduchik is the right choice to serve as RNC deputy co-chair,” he added. “In addition to being a key leader in helping us win big in Ohio, I am confident he is going to work very hard to continue the excellent work the RNC has done of building the Republican Party up to a record level of strength.”
“Ronna has been a committed leader in our party for years, and her leadership this cycle in helping President-elect Trump turn Michigan red for the first time since 1988 makes her an exceptional choice to serve as Deputy Chair,” Priebus said. “Ronna is an outstanding fundraiser, and her ability to drive support for our mission of electing Republicans up and down the ballot gives me full confidence that she will be able to continue building on the RNC’s success and organizational strength as we head into important elections in 2017 and 2018.”
“Bob Paduchik’s strong relationships with Republicans everywhere, and his impressive record of winning key elections make him an ideal choice to serve as deputy co-chair,” he added. “Bob has a proven ability to be a team player, knows how to achieve results at the ballot box and has a keen focus on furthering the RNC’s commitment to winning. We are proud to have him take on a new leadership role where he can help implement President-elect Trump’s and our Republican majority’s vision for change.”
The RNC release included the following details about the new leaders:
McDaniel—This November, Ronna McDaniel helped deliver Michigan for Donald Trump and the GOP for the first time in decades. She was elected as the state chairman from Michigan in February of 2015. Ronna served as a Trump delegate and chaired the Michigan delegation to the 2016 Republican National Convention. She has served as a precinct delegate, as a district committee executive member and state committeewoman in Michigan and served as national delegate to the Tampa convention representing Michigan’s 11th District. In 2013, she served as co-chair for the Mackinac Leadership Conference and was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Board of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her local community of Northville, Ronna has served on land planning and public safety committees and is actively involved in her local PTA. She received her B.A. in English from Brigham Young University. Ronna is married to Patrick McDaniel and has two children, Abigail and Nash.
Paduchik—Bob Paduchik most recently served as the Ohio state director for the Trump-Pence presidential campaign. He was the campaign manager for Ohio Senator Rob Portman’s successful campaign for U.S. Senate in 2010 and was the Ohio State director for the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign in both 2000 and 2004, helping President Bush carry the state both times. From 2011 through 2015, Bob worked in a variety of roles at the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a trade association representing the coal-fueled electricity industry. From October 2001 to January 2003, Bob served as the deputy assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Although the RNC Executive Committee will likely act on the nominations quickly, the full 168-member committee must vote on them. That will likely happen in January when the RNC holds its winter meeting in Washington, D.C. {eoa}
