Rasmussen Poll: Republicans Want Mike Lindell for RNC Chair — Certainly Not Ronna McDaniel

Fewer than one in five Republican voters want Ronna McDaniel to be Republican National Committee (RNC) chair again, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, and of the three candidates — McDaniel, attorney Harmeet Dhillon, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — Lindell surpassed Dhillon by a 10-point margin. Republican voters want radical change in their party, and this poll shows that they want an outsider with a track record of defying the establishment to enact that change.

Rasmussen found in its survey of Republican voters that 30% support Mike Lindell for RNC chair, 20% support Harmeet Dhillon, and only 15% support Ronna McDaniel. There is definitely indecision among Republicans too, though, because 15% don’t support any of the three candidates and 21% are undecided. Perhaps that’s due to not paying attention to the race or perhaps to Republicans’ lack of confidence in their own party, which was likely heightened by the failed “red wave” of 2022. Rasmussen said only 20% of all likely U.S. voters think the Republican Party has been “more effective” in the past few years, while 40% say the Democrats were more effective. Only 43% of Republican voters think their party was more effective in electing candidates.

So why was Lindell more popular among Republicans overall? Does Lindell simply have more name recognition? Or perhaps voters see him as having a proven track record? Lindell has been de-banked, censored, de-platformed, and personally targeted by the FBI, and his businesshas been restricted. He has spent large amounts of his own money trying to prove voter fraud in court, including recently funding Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election challenge, and he has stuck to his guns no matter how much hatred he gets. Voters might understandably see that as an encouraging prognostication of Lindell’s actions as RNC chair.

Furthermore, Lindell has made more of an effort to appeal to voters. The Rasmussen poll was conducted Jan. 23-25, and on Jan. 25 Lindell particularly demonstrated that effort. That day, public debate for RNC chair was scheduled to avoid any conflicts, but McDaniel still refused to come. Dhillon, after initially committing to the debate, backed out on the grounds that McDaniel would not be present, according todebate organizer John Fredericks. This is especially strange considering that Dhillon called for a debate to appeal to grassroots voters multiple times. Lindell was the only RNC chair candidate who came to the debate, as Dhillon chose instead to send a deputy.

55% of voters “who Strongly Disapprove of President Joe Biden’s job performance oppose McDaniel’s reelection,” with 28% supporting Lindell and 27% supporting Dhillon.