North Carolinians Michael Whatley and Lara Trump have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Lara’s father-in-law, as new leaders for the Republican National Committee.
No move by the national party has been announced. In addition to the former president’s public announcement, the potential change has been addressed by his lone remaining competitor for the Republican presidential nomination and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Whatley, general counsel to the national committee, has been chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party since 2017. He was reelected to a fourth term last month. Lara Trump is married to Eric Trump, the former president’s third son. She has previously had multiple TV roles and led the Trump-Pence Women’s Empowerment Tour.
Donald Trump met at Mar-a-Lago recently with McDaniel, niece of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Trump’s pick to lead the committee after he was elected in 2016. A spokesman for her said there’s been no change, and no decision on her future would happen before the South Carolina Republican primary Feb. 24.
A published report Feb. 6 by Carolina Journal said McDaniel intended to resign after that primary. Michigan, where she’s from, is the following Tuesday and a week later is Super Tuesday.
Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s pick as an ambassador in the United Nations, has bristled at the party naming a “presumptive nominee” so early in the primary schedule as the former president has requested. She said his leadership demands advance the question, “Is that how you’re going to try and take an election?”
Haley has a significant deficit in every measurable category, including primary and caucus performance, national polls and respecitve polls measuring only a single state’s voters.
