On paper it was a successful day for Ronna McDaniel.

111 of the 168 members of the Republican party organization RNC voted for the 49-year-old politician on Friday and made her their national secretary for a fourth time.

But even in McDaniel's acceptance speech it was clear that her victory was not an untroubled one.

"It takes all of us," she said after inviting her two challengers onto the stage.

The voice of the base was heard, she said.

And continued all the more emphatically: "If we stand together, the Democrats will feel it in 2024."

Sofia Dreisbach

North American political correspondent based in Washington.

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It had been less than four weeks since the Republicans in Congress had gone at each other's throats in full view.

And in the party organization there had also been a lot of crunching before the election.

Behind the Republicans lie three disappointing elections.

In 2018 they lost the House of Representatives to the Democrats, in the 2020 presidential election they even lost the White House and in the 2022 congressional elections it was only enough for a narrow majority in the first chamber.

And that despite inflation at a record high and President Joe Biden being unpopular like never before.

Always at the top: Ronna McDaniel.

It was the first time in six years that she had faced serious challengers in the election.

Trump held back

Weeks before the election, the incumbent had secured the written approval of more than a hundred RNC members in a letter – far more than was necessary for victory.

She campaigned to unite the party.

Her supporters praised the experience of the well-connected Republican;

the disappointments of the past few years are not her fault alone.

As Federal Secretary, she organizes with the RNC, among other things, the nomination conventions for the Republican presidents and vice presidents, supports the candidates in the states and takes care of collecting donations.

McDaniel was handpicked by Donald Trump for the post of RNC leader in 2016 and had sided with him in his fight against the supposedly "stolen" 2020 election.

But the aggressive campaign for her post also exposed some of the Republicans' troubled relationship with their former president.

McDaniel was not facing a Trump opponent: both challengers were Trump confidants.

Attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who won 51 votes, represented Trump at the subpoena for the Capitol Storming Committee.

Entrepreneur and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, who only got four votes, has been repeating Trump's lie about election fraud like a mantra since 2020.

Before the election, Dhillon said the Republican course could only be corrected with a new face at the helm.

In any case, she was not nominated by a specific president.

Dhillon had promoted himself vigorously.

Supporters made calls and sent thousands of emails to get the 168 members of the RNC to turn their backs on McDaniel.

She addressed Trump opponents as well as supporters.

At the last minute on Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – very likely a competitor to Trump in the 2024 presidential election – indirectly spoke out in favor of the lawyer: “fresh blood” and a change in the party organization are needed.

Otherwise it will be difficult to generate support and donations.

Dhillon was still reticent after losing on Friday.

She is ready to fight the cracks in the Republican Party, she told reporters.

"But the reconciliation will not happen overnight." Then she added another tip against McDaniel: If the party has "completely lost touch with the grassroots," then there is a lot to do.

Before the election, she had campaigned for a radical new start in the party leadership.

Trump himself had not taken sides before the election.

Then on Friday he congratulated Ronna McDaniel on her victory.

Now it is important to prevent the "election fraud" of Democrats.