LANSING — Last week marked the latest episode in Michigan Republicans’ major hesitance to run for governor. After Politico broke the news that RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel floated the possibility of abandoning her national post to stage a run for governor, her staff quickly issued a statement backtracking on her remarks, clarifying that she “has no desire to do anything else other than lead the Republican Party.”
This comes as Republicans in Michigan are in disarray and already beginning to sound the panic alarm, warning that “there’s not a strong fall back option” should folks like Ronna McDaniel and two-time loser John James remain on the sidelines.
“Evidently the only elephant in the room for the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary is the unmitigated recruitment failure currently in progress,” said MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite. “Michiganders see Governor Whitmer exhibiting stellar leadership and continuously refusing to blink in the face of these uncertain times as she forges a path forward to a vaccinated state and revamped economy. We encourage the obviously scared Michigan Republican party leadership and potential candidates mulling what’s assured to be fruitless runs to do everyone a favor and keep doing what they’re doing: Nothing.”
Read more below from MLive on Ronna McDaniel having to get reined in by her own party, who said definitively that she’s not considering a gubernatorial run:
MLive: RNC Brushes off Report of Ronna McDaniel Mulling Run for Michigan Governor
By Samuel Dodge
The Republican National Committee says its Chair Ronna McDaniel is focused solely on winning back Congress in 2022, but there may be something else on her mind, according to a Thursday Politico report citing unnamed sources.
McDaniel, a Michigan native, told RNC members during a closed-door meeting in Dallas that she’s considered stepping down and running against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the 2022 November election, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with her comments.
In a statement, an RNC official essentially rejected the idea that McDaniel could run, but took aim at Whitmer in the process. […]
Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite responded to the comments in a statement pointing out the short list of candidates currently in the running for Republican gubernatorial nominee.
“So thin is the Republican bench for the Michigan gubernatorial primary that Ronna McDaniel, who already said she wasn’t going to run last month, is considering leaving her post chairing the national party, where she’s been the #1 opponent of $1,400 pandemic relief checks and called the $18 billion in American Recovery Plan aid to Michigan a ‘boondoggle,’” Applewhaite said. “Michiganders will see right through part-time Ronna, who abandoned the state long before she dropped the ‘Romney’ from her name.” […]
