Ronna Romney McDaniel

Ronna Romney McDaniel
Basic facts
Location:	Northville, Mich.
Affiliation:	Republican
Education:	Brigham Young University

Ronna Romney McDaniel is the chief executive officer of the Michigan Forward Network, a 501(c)(4) organization seeking to support Republican candidates in Michigan.

McDaniel formerly served as the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). RNC members elected McDaniel to the position on January 19, 2017. She resigned from the position on March 8, 2024. McDaniel was previously chair of the Republican Party of Michigan from 2015 to 2017. She is a former Michigan Republican national committeewoman, state committeewoman, district committee executive member, and precinct delegate.

McDaniel began her career as a production manager. Her first experience working in politics professionally was on her uncle Mitt Romney's (R) 2012 presidential campaign. McDaniel is also a granddaughter of former Michigan Governor George W. Romney (R).

Biography

Ronna Romney McDaniel earned a B.A. in English from Brigham Young University. She gained her first political experience in 1994 as a driver when her mother, Ronna Romney, campaigned for U.S. Senate from Michigan. McDaniel later worked on a number of political campaigns ranging from school board elections to the 2012 presidential campaign of her uncle, Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

During the 2012 presidential election cycle, McDaniel served as chair of the Women for Mitt Michigan Coalition and as a delegate from Michigan's 11th Congressional District to the Republican National Convention. The following year, McDaniel served as chair of the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, the biennial leadership meeting of the Republican Party of Michigan. In February 2014, members of the Republican Party of Michigan elected McDaniel to the position of Michigan national committeewoman.

McDaniel was elected to serve a two-year term as the chair of the Republican Party of Michigan in February 2015. During her campaign, McDaniel sought to build solidarity between the establishment members of the party and grassroots activists. According to the Detroit Free Press, McDaniel earned 55 percent of the membership vote, which included the support of both the establishment wing of the party and tea party members.

In addition to her political experience, McDaniel has worked in fundraising, personnel management, and media production. She previously held management positions at the staffing company Ajilon, Mills James Productions, and SRCP Media. In 2013, Governor Rick Snyder (R) appointed McDaniel to a four-year term on the Michigan Board of Marriage and Family Therapy. McDaniel has also served on planning and safety committees in the community of Northville, Michigan, and has been involved in her local parent teacher association.

Work and activities

Republican National Committee

See also: Republican National Committee

On December 14, 2016, President Donald Trump (R) announced his selection of McDaniel to succeed Reince Priebus as the new chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Trump also announced his selection of Republican strategist Bob Paduchik to serve as the RNC co-chairman. The 168 members of the RNC officially elected McDaniel as chairwoman and Paduchik as co-chairman on January 19, 2017.

McDaniel had the backing of President Donald Trump (R) and outgoing RNC chair Reince Priebus. "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," said Trump.

McDaniel went on to win re-election as chairwoman in 2019, 2021, and 2023. McDaniel resigned as chairwoman on March 8, 2024. In a statement, McDaniel said, "I have decided to step aside at our Spring Training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee [Trump] to select a Chair of their choosing. The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition." McDaniel said her accomplishments as chairwoman included, "firing Nancy Pelosi, winning the popular vote in 2022, creating an Election Integrity Department, building the committee’s first small dollar grassroots donor program, strengthening our state parties through our Growing Republican Organizations to Win program, expanding the Party through minority outreach at our community centers, and launching Bank Your Vote to get Republicans to commit to voting early." McDaniel was succeeded by Michael Whatley as RNC chair.

Michigan Forward Network

On May 29, 2025, McDaniel announced she would work as chief executive officer of the Michigan Forward Network, a 501(c)(4) organization seeking to support Republican candidates in Michigan. Dick DeVos was set to help lead an advisory board for the organization and provide some of the funding.

According to the Wall Street Journal's John McCormick, "McDaniel said that the group would focus heavily on the issues of education and government spending and that it would be a fusion of traditional chamber-of-commerce conservatism and Trump’s MAGA movement."

2016 Republican National Convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

McDaniel was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Michigan. McDaniel was one of 25 delegates from Michigan bound by state party rules to support Donald Trump at the convention. Regarding her status as a Trump delegate, McDaniel said in April, "We want those voters engaged in the process. So as an RNC delegate, I chose to bind myself to the majority vote of Michigan. I remain neutral as chair, but I will be a Trump delegate in Cleveland." Her uncle, Mitt Romney, had been an outspoken critic of Trump during the 2016 presidential election cycle.

Delegate rules

See also: RNC delegate guidelines from Michigan, 2016 and Republican delegates from Michigan, 2016

Delegates from Michigan to the Republican National Convention were elected at district conventions and at the state convention in April 2016. Michigan delegates were allowed to list their preferred candidate on their presidential preference form. 2016 Michigan GOP bylaws stipulate that delegates to the national convention were bound on the first ballot. Delegates bound to a particular candidate became unbound if that candidate publicly withdrew from the race, suspended his or her campaign, endorsed another candidate, or sought the nomination of a different party for any office.

Michigan primary results

See also: Presidential election in Michigan, 2016

Michigan Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Jeb Bush	0.8%	10,685	0
Ben Carson	1.6%	21,349	0
Chris Christie	0.2%	3,116	0
Ted Cruz	24.7%	326,617	17
Carly Fiorina	0.1%	1,415	0
Lindsey Graham	0%	438	0
Mike Huckabee	0.2%	2,603	0
John Kasich	24.3%	321,115	17
George Pataki	0%	591	0
Rand Paul	0.3%	3,774	0
Marco Rubio	9.3%	123,587	0
Rick Santorum	0.1%	1,722	0
Donald Trump	36.5%	483,753	25
Other	1.7%	22,824	0
Totals		1,323,589	59
Source: CNN and Michigan Secretary of State

Delegate allocation

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Michigan had 59 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 42 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 14 congressional districts). District delegates were allocated proportionally in accordance with the statewide vote; a candidate had to win at least 15% of the statewide vote in order to be eligible to receive any district delegates.

Of the remaining 17 delegates, 14 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated proportionally in accordance with the statewide vote; a candidate had to win at least 15% of the statewide vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable ballot measure endorsements by Ronna Romney McDaniel

Measure	Position	Outcome
Ohio Issue 1, Right to Make Reproductive Decisions Including Abortion Initiative (2023)  source	Oppose	Approved

Recent news

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Ronna Romney McDaniel - Google News

See also

• What is an influencer?
• Michigan
• Republican Party of Michigan
• Republican National Committee
• Mitt Romney

External links

• Ronna McDaniel on Facebook
• Ronna McDaniel on X
• Ronna McDaniel on LinkedIn
• Republican Party of Michigan
• Ronna McDaniel homepage (archive)