"What happens in Vegas..."

Reflections from the 2024 RNC Winter Meeting in Las Vegas

I just got back from the RNC Winter Meeting in Las Vegas, where the 168 Members of the Republican National Committee gathered for the last time before the Republican Party officially nominates Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer.

As someone who has attended nearly every RNC Meeting since the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, I have seen the RNC move toward an increasingly scripted process where decisions and direction flows from the Chairman with few surprises.

But this meeting was a little different.

The week began with Turning Point Action’s “Restoring National Confidence (RNC)” Summit across the street from the RNC Meeting. Turning Point Action has set its sights on the RNC in an effort to engage grassroots Republicans to get them to become more involved in the process:

Reactions from “Establishment” members of the RNC to Turning Point Action’s efforts at this meeting were mixed. (The term “Establishment” in this instance refers to those who are supportive of the centralization of power through the RNC Chairman.)

Anything that is a threat to the established order will make these individuals uncomfortable. Turning Point USA has steadily beat the drum against RNC Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel for months, so their efforts are seen as a threat to the Chairman’s power.

Turning Point USA’s chief representative on the Republican National Committee is Tyler Bowyer, the Republican National Committeeman from Arizona and one of the younger members of the RNC.

For readers who align themselves with “grassroots” conservatives, I believe Turning Point’s efforts are a net positive for Republicans. From the Goldwater Era to the Reagan Revolution to the Tea Party to the America First/MAGA movement, the waves of grassroots conservatives who have come into the Republican Party have been a net positive to the Republican Party.

And they have been seen as a threat by the “Establishment” every single time.

With that in mind, here are a few observations from the RNC Winter Meeting:

RNC Members are concerned about fundraising and the budget

The cash-strapped, poor-fundraising narrative ahead of the RNC Winter Meeting exploded during the RNC Members’ Only breakfast on Wednesday morning. According to several RNC Members, RNC budget and fundraising issues occupied about 85% of the discussion at the breakfast, which ran three hours.

Members questioned spending decisions by the RNC and inquired about donor metrics. Reaction to the RNC’s responses to these questions were mixed, and it appeared as though there would be a showdown over the budget during the General Session on Friday morning.

However, that fight fizzled out on the floor of the General Session when the RNC overwhelmingly approved the budget, despite an effort by some (led by AZ Committeeman Tyler Bowyer) to challenge the ruling of the Chair and record the vote.

This is usually the outcome at RNC meetings — the majority of RNC Members are aligned with the Chairman, so any opposition to the will of the Chairman dies under a voice vote in the General Session.

On a nominally-related note, there appeared to be some effort to force Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel to resign at some date determined by opponents, but that effort never came to fruition at the Winter Meeting.

The Rules Committee continues to centralize power

Members of the RNC’s Standing Committee on Rules passed a change to the Rules of the Republican Party to extend the term of National Committee Members to the Winter Meeting following the Republican National Convention.

Previously, the term of National Committeemen and Women ended at the Republican National Convention. Proponents of the change argued that “experienced” party leaders should remain in their roles through the presidential election to help get the Republican nominee across the finish line.

There may be some validity to this; however, it is reasonable to argue (and for you to believe) that this was an effort for incumbent members of hold on to power and their positions for just a little bit longer.

One argument against this change made in the Standing Committee on Rules meeting was that it was a move to “change the rules in the middle of the game” — an argument made by the Republican Party during the 2020 election in states where unelected bureaucrats and judges (backed by Democrats) finessed the rules to accommodate changes to election laws made in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After this change to the rules was adopted by the Standing Committee on Rules, Mississippi’s National Committeeman — Henry Barbour, who has been behind the further centralization of power in the RNC since at least the 2012 Republican National Convention — rose to prepare the committee to address additional rules changes in the future.

Without getting into the weeds and re-hashing rules fights from past conventions, Barbour’s proposed rules, which will be debated at a future RNC Meeting, will continue to centralize power within the RNC. (Stay tuned for a future post when this issue arises again.)

Morton Blackwell’s legacy on full display

One pleasant surprise from the RNC Winter Meeting was the overwhelming support by Members of the RNC for Morton Blackwell’s decades-long effort to train conservative activists, which has benefitted Republicans in election contests.

Morton, who is running for another term as Virginia’s Republican National Committeeman, has trained tens of thousands of activists across the country. Many of those trained activists then funnel their efforts into local committees or to candidates running up and down the ballot.

Morton came prepared to the RNC Winter Meeting with campaign paraphernalia, including the buttons you see in the header image. Dozens of Members of the RNC stuck these buttons into their lapels and onto their name badges while telling Morton how his training had benefitted them or conservative efforts in their states.

RNC Co-Chairman Drew McKissick, who also serves as the State Party Chairman from South Carolina, recalled finding training materials from the late-1980s recently, while Hawaii’s National Committeewoman Laura Nakanelua (and dozens of others) shared how Morton’s training increased the number and effectiveness of conservative activists in their states.

This sentiment came to a head on Friday morning at the Southern Regional Breakfast when Henry Barbour took a moment out of his presentation to praise Morton’s efforts to train conservatives. Members of the Southern Region gave an extended standing ovation to Morton for the success of his efforts to train conservatives over the years.

As I wrote elsewhere, “There is no one in Virginia or across the United States who has done more to foster a vibrant and successful conservative movement than Morton.” While Morton routinely receives a smattering of accolades at RNC meetings, this sentiment was on full display at this meeting to an extent I had not previously seen.

A word of caution to the Republican National Committee

The Republican Party is the primary vehicle through which Republicans elect candidates and advance policy. There is not another organization that can effect the political outcomes in our country or that has the responsibility to do so to the extent the Republican Party can or does.

Each time the Republican Party has confronted a new wave of grassroots conservatives, it has been a net benefit to the goals of the Republican Party — namely, electing more Republicans and advancing policy.

Have there been growing pains? Sure.

But the Republican Party has always come out stronger.

Critiques of the Republican Party that power is increasingly centralized in the RNC Chairman, that rules are changed to benefit the status quo, or that the RNC is unresponsive to the grassroots are earnest criticisms by people who ultimately want the Republican Party to elect more Republicans and advance more Republican policy.

These critiques should be heard and considered by leaders within the Republican Party, especially Members of the Republican National Committee. And to the extent that these critiques can yield solutions and opportunities for greater collaboration, they should be recognized and adopted, not dismissed and ignored.