DANA POINT, Calif. — The Republican National Committee on Friday voted to reelect Ronna McDaniel to a fourth two-year term as party chair, opting not to punish her for the GOP’s recent string of electoral defeats.

McDaniel fended off a challenge from Harmeet Dhillon, a California lawyer who has represented former president Donald Trump and the unsuccessful Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, seizing on grass-roots furor demanding new leadership. McDaniel positioned herself as a steady hand and honest broker who can hold together the party’s factions and continue building out the RNC’s financial and field resources. She prevailed on the first ballot, 111-51.

McDaniel argued that the RNC did its job in the midterms by providing the infrastructure for turning out voters. She acknowledged that the party struggled with its nominees — a problem that many Republicans have attributed to influence of Trump, though McDaniel didn’t address the former president in her remarks on Friday morning.

“The RNC, we don’t get to pick the candidates, the voters do,” McDaniel said. “We don’t get to call the plays, we don’t get to say what the campaigns run on. But we do provide resoureces and we build a critical infrastructure to help candidates win.” McDaniel said Republicans won the popular vote by 4 million, equivalent to 297 Electoral College votes, and made inroads with minority voters.

Between posts about conspiracy theories and right-wing grievances was an unusual advertisement: a photo of former President Donald J. Trump holding a $1,000 bill made of gold, which he was apparently offering free to supporters.

But there were a few catches: The bill was not free, it was not made of gold, and it was not offered by Mr. Trump.

The ad appeared on Truth Social, the right-wing social network started by Mr. Trump in late 2021, one of many pitches from hucksters and fringe marketers dominating the ads on the site.

Ads from major brands are nonexistent on the site. Instead, the ads on Truth Social are for alternative medicine, diet pills, gun accessories and Trump-themed trinkets, according to an analysis of hundreds of ads on the social network by The New York Times.

Dear Friends,
I am thrilled to invite you to a special reception with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in support of the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund. This event will take place on Friday, February 3, 2023, in Philadelphia, PA.

At this reception, you will have the opportunity to hear from President Biden and Vice President Harris about their vision for the future of our country.


The event time and location will be announced upon RSVP.

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Event date: Friday , Feb 3rd

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Please note that we will be following the most up-to-date CDC guidelines regarding this event.

WEARE, New Hampshire Jan 27 (Reuters) - When Donald Trump trounced his Republican rivals in New Hampshire's 2016 primary, the stunning win announced to other states the reality TV showman was a serious contender. Trump went on to capture the Republican nomination and then the White House.

But as the former president kicks off his bid to recapture the White House in 2024 with a speech in New Hampshire on Saturday - his first event in an early primary state - he will find the political landscape more treacherous than he did six years ago, according to party activists, members and strategists in the state.

In interviews with 10 New Hampshire Republican Party officials and members, some of whom worked on Trump's 2016 primary campaign and all of whom have been staunch Trump supporters in the past, Reuters found only three who were sticking with him this time around - including the state chair, an influential Republican figure who is so enthusiastic about Trump he is stepping down on Saturday to help his campaign.

The rest cited exhaustion with Trump's controversies, exasperation at the constant drama, and a desire to move on from Trump's loss in 2020 with a fresh face who they thought would have a stronger chance of winning in 2024.

I am thrilled to let you know that the Forward Party has entered a strategic alignment with the Common Sense Party in the great state of California!

Common Sense Party shares the same values as Forward: a dedication to giving voters more options at the ballot box, more voice in their communities, and more power in challenging the status quo.

By entering this strategic partnership, we’re working with an aligned group to create a new political home for Californians. As is always the case, the major parties never make it easy to form a new party, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.

When Forward says it’s building a new kind of political party, this is what we mean. We’re an ally and convener; we seek partnerships to find common-sense solutions to the challenges facing our communities and our nation. Forward is different by design, and we are thrilled to be living our values by entering this strategic alignment with Common Sense Party!

Last night around 10 p.m. Pacific, we spotted Dhillon standing by herself outside of a lively reception being held in her honor. While others were drinking and socializing, she was working the phones, frantically texting members and bending their ears as they walked by. When Playbook inquired about her whipping effort, she insisted she’s within striking distance.

“I heard some who back Ronna are now kinda freaking out about it. I’ll just leave it at that,” she said, then laughed. “I don’t want to jinx this, but we had a very good night and a very good day.”

Dhillon’s apparent 11th-hour surge comes as she’s spent the past two days apologizing to RNC members for the the flood of email her aggressive corps of grassroots activists have sent their way. She’s also been privately telling members concerned about the diehard MAGA posse around her that she is not an election denier and will do more than McDaniel to push back on Trump when needed.

The charm offensive has had an effect: One RNC member who told us just three days ago that he couldn’t fathom supporting Dhillon told us late last night that after hearing her personal story this week, he may do just that.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/01/27/can-harmeet-dhillon-pull-off-an-rnc-shocker-00079850

DeSantis disrupts tussle over RNC leadership

Watching— Is there a proxy war between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis being waged at the Republican National Committee? Maybe? Maybe not?

On one side — Trump has not officially taken sides in the tug-of-war between current RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel and Harmeet Dhillon although some of his top aides such as Susie Wiles have been supportive of McDaniel. Dhillon told a POLITICO reporter in California — where the vote takes place today — that Trump’s team was “whipping votes” for McDaniel.

The other side — So then like a thunderbolt, DeSantis weighed in with praise for Dhillon telling Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative Turning Point USA who is supporting Dhillon, that “new blood” and a “change” was needed at the RNC. And then shortly after DeSantis made his comments Sen. Rick Scott — who does not have the warmest relationship with the governor — gave his own praise to McDaniel.

Reaction— Dhillon herself said that DeSantis’ comments stopped short of an endorsement and said “I call that answering a comment.” OK, then. But the timing is interesting since the governor’s support came hours ahead of a closely watched vote about the future of the Republican Party.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/florida-playbook/2023/01/27/desantis-disrupts-tussle-over-rnc-leadership-00079838