C&B with Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican Party

BUCK: We’ve got someone who certainly knows the fight ahead and can tell us what she thinks is going to happen, what the difference makers are going to be. Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the RNC, is with us now. Ronna, great to have you on the show.

MCDANIEL: Always great to be with you. Thanks for having me.

BUCK: I think we got to start with the big one, the obvious one, but the important one. Republicans are going to take the House and the Senate. What’s happening?

MCDANIEL: Well, I think we’re going to take both. The Senate is going to be tight. We know that it’s going to be tight up until Election Day. So, everybody go support your candidates. Go to Vote.GOP. Go to GOP.com. Support us so we can finish strong. But, you guys, momentum’s on our side right now. People are waking up every day to high gas prices, to groceries being higher, to inflation, to crime. They see it right in front of their eyes. And they’re really fed up with the Democrats who obviously have the Senate, the White House, and the House. And I think they’re ready for a change.

CLAY: Ronna, we’re talking about 25 days, right at that, ’till the midterms. I know this is a little bit early, but is there an East Coast state that you think will be an early barometer for those of us who are nerds like Buck and I and are going to be watching returns come in. Is it North Carolina? Is it Florida? Where will you be looking on the East Coast to say, “Okay, this is a sign of how the country might be going” early on that night. Where can we get signs?

MCDANIEL: So, you know, you’d like to say New York, but their results are so slow because of the way they administer their election. I think you got to look at Rhode Island too. Allan Fung, just a stellar rock star candidate. That’s a, that’s a flip for us. And then, of course, Florida, we’ve got some key seats. Anna Paulina Luna, obviously Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis come out quickly out of the gate with big wins. That’s going to be a bellwether to a pretty good night.

BUCK: What are you guys doing to try to help in some of these very tight races like Warnock-Walker in Georgia? We just had Adam Laxalt on a few a few minutes ago out in Nevada. And obviously Blake Masters, who’s getting money from Peter Thiel, but apparently not from Mitch McConnell. What’s going on?

MCDANIEL: So, they are in session, all of those races in all of those states and we have just a unique role. Obviously, the past year we’ve been focusing on voter registration. We’ve really built up some good numbers in states like Pennsylvania and Florida, North Carolina, and Nevada. Now we switch to the get-out-the-vote efforts. We have trained close to 800,000 volunteers. We have over a thousand staff in the field. We’ve opened 38 community centers dealing with Hispanic, Asian, and African-American voters.

In Nevada, we have three of those offices open. In Georgia, we have two. In Texas, we have five. So, our get-out-the-vote in our infrastructure to turn out the vote is going to be the biggest difference, I think, in a lot of these races when it’s tight, because you got to be able to go knock on those independent voters’ doors by their neighbor. And the best way to influence a vote is through somebody who knows you. And that’s what we’ve been building for the past two years.

CLAY: Ronna, you and I and Buck and a lot of our listeners pay a great deal of attention on a day-to-day basis to what’s happening in the American political universe. Frankly, a huge percentage of Americans don’t, and a lot of people make their decision in the final two weeks, in the final ten days. What is the message that resonates you guys are finding with those people? And how do you think those late-deciding voters, the independents, the unaffiliated, the people who frankly are just super busy and not that plugged in on politics are going to break based on what you’re seeing 25 days out.

MCDANIEL: Well, you’re so right. People aren’t paying attention. People are living their lives. And, you know, those of us who are dialed in, we don’t understand. But a lot of Americans aren’t paying attention. So, the number-one issue that’s driving the voters that we’re seeing is the economy and crime, especially in states that have huge cities with massive crime issues. But the ground game is so impactful because we need to identify through our data, which the RNC does, who are our swing voters, who are our low-propensity voters? Who do we think we can turn out for this election?

And how do we get them to go vote? Have they requested their absentee ballot? If they have, why haven’t they turned it in? And that’s where the ground game is so important, and that’s what the RNC does. So again, if anybody can support us at GOP.com, we could use it because this is going to be an election where turnout is going to make the difference in a midterm. Less people turnout than a presidential year. And people might not even vote because they’re apathetic or they’re unhappy or not paying attention. And that’s where that ground game is going to be the difference.

BUCK: We’re speaking to Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the RNC. Just one more for you on it. If you had to pick right now, what seems like somewhat long shot, GOP pickup in other governor’s race, Senate race, you name it. Can you give us one that you think may surprise people?

MCDANIEL: Well, I mean, we are all watching the Oregon governor’s race. Christine Drazan, who’s just ran a great race. I think that’s something that will surprise the country if we pick up a governor’s race in a state like Oregon. But then you got to look at candidates like Tiffany Smiley in Washington State or Joe O’Dea. I think those will be surprise wins to the country and, you know, very blue state. But if it’s a wave night, those are the type of seats that will pick up.

CLAY: Ronna, last question for you. That’s a really good one from Buck. Buck and I have been talking about the amount of young, diverse candidates that are running as Republicans. You mentioned Allan Fung in Rhode Island. There are five or six Latinas out there that may get elected to Congress representing Republicans. What are you seeing in terms of Hispanic movement, in terms of maybe voters who have not traditionally been open to voting Republican moving in to Camp Red?

MCDANIEL: So, we’ve seen this, you know, realignment with Hispanic voters. We saw it in 2020 where we had big wins in Miami, right, with Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar. But now that’s moving over to Texas with Mayra Flores and Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia. And then you go to Arizona; you look at Anna V. Eskamani. We have so many great candidates and the expansion that has come from intentional investment, the RNC with these Hispanic community centers and our engagement in communities saying, “Hey, the Democrat Party has taken your vote for granted forever and we’re here to earn your vote — and, by the way, gas prices are higher. Your family’s paying more to put food on the table. Your kids are falling behind because of education choices made by the Democrat Party. Maybe it’s time to take a look at the Republican Party,” and I think you’re going to see a huge swing with Hispanic voters this midterm.

BUCK: Ronna McDaniel, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

MCDANIEL: Thanks, guys.