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Who is Ronna Romney McDaniel?

Michigan GOP chairwoman would be the first woman to lead party in 40 years

Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Republican National Committee, speaks at a Trump rally last week in Walker, Michigan. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Republican National Committee, speaks at a Trump rally last week in Walker, Michigan. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump has recommended Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel to lead the national party, as a kind of reward for helping the GOP carry Michigan in the presidential race for the first time in almost 30 years. 

A formal announcement has yet to be made, though a source close to Trump confirmed his endorsement, The Associated Press reported. 

McDaniel, the niece of 2012 Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, has been a loyal Trump supporter since he secured the GOP nomination.

Just weeks before the election, McDaniel removed a state grass-roots leader, Wendy Day, from her party post for refusing to back Trump.

But the former production company manager hasn’t been in politics that long. 

McDaniel, 43, began her political career in 2012 working on her uncle’s presidential campaign, and was elected as one of Michigan’s delegates to the RNC in 2014, according to the Detroit Free Press

Trump gave McDaniel a shoutout at a victory tour speech in the Grand Rapids suburb of Walker last Friday. 

“Ronna McDaniel, what a great job you and your people have done,” Trump told the audience at the Deltaplex Arena. “I was very impressed with you. She didn’t sleep for six months.”

McDaniel, pumping up the crowd, addressed Michigan’s red turn. “They said a Republican could never win Michigan,” she said. “But I knew better. You knew better and Donald Trump knew better.”

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