Chairwoman McDaniel: RNC “Ready to Defy History This Election Cycle”

In this March 3, 2016 file photo, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, then the Michigan Republican Party chair, speaks before a Republican presidential primary debate in Detroit. (Photo: AP)

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the party is in “the best position ever” ahead of a midterm and “ready to defy history.” While the U.S. Senate map for the 2018 midterm elections is highly favorable to Republicans, the history is against them in the U.S. House.

The RNC chair acknowledge as much during an interview with Stu Varney on Fox Business Network. When asked whether she was “worried about November,” Chairwoman McDaniel said you “have to wake up worried” to do the job correctly.

“That’s why we’ve trained more volunteers than we ever have. We’ve made more voter contacts. We are in the best position we have ever been as a party going into a midterm because we knew what we were up against: history, we knew that the Democrats are energized,” she said. “But I’ll tell you what – never bet against Donald Trump because he always defies the odds. And we’re ready to defy history this election cycle.”

The RNC raised a record-breaking $12.8 million in February, while a near-bankrupt Democratic National Committee (DNC) took out a $1.7 million loan to keep the lights on. The monthly haul brings the RNC fundraising total in the 2017-2018 cycle to $157.7 million, juxtaposed to just $79 million for the DNC.

However, money isn’t everything.

“The RNC doesn’t have a fundraising problem and it doesn’t have a moderate problem. It has a base problem,” PPD Election Projection Model and Big Data Poll Director Rich Baris said. “Voters who propelled the Republican Party to a majority in the U.S. Congress did so in support of repealing ObamaCare and the Trump agenda.”

The weekly generic ballot tracking poll finds the 9-point led Democrats enjoyed has narrowed to 5 points. While independents slightly favored Republican candidates, nearly 9 in 10 Democrats support their party. That compares to slightly less than 8 in 10 for Republican voters, who are less excited about the midterms.

“Their own voters see them as complicit in the effort to stop President Trump,” Mr. Baris added. “If that doesn’t change, they’ll make them pay for it.”

Even as they score special election upsets amid GOP voter complacency, the DNC is struggling to pay their bills let alone fund their candidates. With the nearly $2 million loan recently disclosed, total debt under DNC Chairman Tom Perez has now accumulated to over $6 million.

The RNC now has about $42.4 million cash-on-hand, while the DNC only has about $10.1 million.

“Vote for Republicans, we’ve proven to you what our leadership brings to your family, your household,” Chairwoman McDaniel stressed when asked about the message they’ll try to convey to voters. “We’re making your lives better, put us back in office.”