Republican National Committee re-elects Ronna McDaniel as its leader

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Overcoming a surprise challenger Friday, Ronna McDaniel was re-elected to chair the Republican National Committee for the fourth time.

McDaniel, who has served as the chair of the committee since 2017, received 111 votes, while California attorney Harmeet Dhillon received 51. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell got 4 votes.

McDaniel had expected to win a new term handily, with more than 100 members pledging their support for her. She only needed 85 votes from eligible voting members to win the seat.

Dhillon is an attorney for former President Donald Trump who decided not to endorse anyone in the RNC race after throwing his support behind McDaniel in 2016.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, shook things up further on the eve of the vote as he backed Dhillon in an interview on The Charlie Kirk Show on Thursday.

"We've had three substandard election cycles in a row, '18, '20, and '22, and I'd say '22 was the worst," DeSantis told Kirk. "I think we need a change. I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC. I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said."

MyPillow owner Mike Lindell, who is facing a defamation lawsuit from voting machine maker U.S. Dominion over accusations that it rigged the 2020 election against Trump, was seeking the position but was never considered a serious threat to McDaniel.