Harmeet Dillon: The Republican Party Must Adapt to Win

The election for RNC Chairman on January 27 will be a referendum on two of the Republican Party’s foundational ideals: personal responsibility and accountability. Our party must be reformed after six years of losses, increasing alienation in voting, and demands from donors for change. We need new leadership, a new vision, and fundamental changes in order to keep our promise to our stakeholders. 

With over 35 years of service and success in the conservative movement, I’m running for Chair of the RNC because the GOP must change or be relegated to permanent also-ran status. I’m committed to redefining what we count as success – and it isn’t more attempted voter contacts – it’s actually winning elections. 

Democrats have consistently out-raised, out-organized, out-performed, and even out-lawyered our elections for many years. Meanwhile, our base – the voters who knock on doors and write the small-dollar checks, are demoralized. We count on larger donors to finance major programs, and they have also expressed support for the RNC.

As RNC Chair, I will first try to win back trust by transparency and by implementing the fiscal conservatism once our hallmark. 

I will direct an immediate audit of the Committee’s spending and disclose the results to all RNC members. Recent media reports revealed that millions of voters’ hard-earned cash was spent on luxury travel and retreats for staff and volunteers, donor trinkets, as well as yoga wear and golf equipment. This has not had any impact on our electoral success. 

Worse, a small group of vendors, paid millions per cycle, win-or-loose, resist change and refuse to even prioritize our values or deliver results, is a problem. When our consultants are incentivized by volume and not winning elections, when we don’t have competitive bidding for important party needs, we get the worst of crony capitalism.

We must attract and retain excellent staff at the RNC using competitive salaries and win bonuses, while at the same time eliminating conflicts of interest such as dual employment/consulting roles. Vendors need to be regularly competitive for their contracts. They should also be rewarded for benchmarked, not volume, results.

Democrats are spending heavily for data and social networking. Although the Republican Party has made great strides in consolidating data with a single vendor but our modeling accuracy needs to be improved and better integrated with field intelligence. If we cut the fat in party spending, we could invest far more into both data and field operations – and we must, because without accurate data we waste precious campaign resources targeting the wrong voters.

Dollar for dollar, influencers and other innovative strategies will reach far more voters than legacy ad buys – though they might not earn fat commissions for political consultants. When we don’t have the White House, it’s the RNC’s responsibility to speak clearly about our party’s core principles and try to reach as many new voters as possible. It is essential that the party use social media to reach young voters and new communities of voters – voters we need to maintain our ability to compete and win elections. 

As an election lawyer, it is important to understand the importance of legal action for electoral integrity. Under current leadership, the RNC was caught flat-footed in 2020—and, inexcusably, remained unprepared in 2022. We have lost before the ballots are even counted if Democrats vote for 30 days while Republicans are only voting for one or two days. To ensure we are providing the best training for our field staff in early voting, and to make the necessary investments, I will create a new Director-level Department of Year-round Election Operations at RNC.

We must develop a deeper legal talent bench. While Democrats have favored law firms with unlimited budgets, the RNC’s legal network is ad hoc, and it will take years of sustained investment and commitment to overtake the left’s advantage. As Chair, I will ensure that our legal forces are effective, focused, proactive – and well-funded.

I’ve been honored and humbled by the outpouring of support for my candidacy. I’ve received the public backing of dozens of members of the RNC, major party donors such as Bernie Marcus, and Dick Uihlein, and Murph Burke, grassroots activists, members of Congress, and encouragement from the top figures in conservative media. We receive support on a daily basis, and Republican voters are unanimously supportive of the RNC.

Crime and inflation are affecting GOP voters. They are being attacked for their patriotism, traditional beliefs and government oppression. Their sons and daughters in uniform are also at risk. They look up to us to lead our party to victory. We can’t let them down. We need a strong, effective Republican Party to fight for them—and for our country. And that requires accountability—and change—at the top.

Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican National Committee Member from California, is running for RNC Chairman.