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Ronna Romney McDaniel, the Michigan GOP chair who this year oversaw the state's first Republican presidential victory since the 1980s, will lead the Republican National Committee once current chairman Reince Priebus joins Donald Trump's White House.
"Ronna has been extremely loyal to our movement and her efforts were critical to our tremendous victory in Michigan, and I know she will bring the same passion to the Republican National Committee," Trump said in a statement announcing the hire.
McDaniel, who was seen to be in a competition with Georgia GOP strategist Nick Ayers, came to the RNC contest with an incomparable resume item – the Michigan win. Throughout 2016, as Republicans in many swing states hemmed about Trump's victories, McDaniel argued that he was bringing new energy to the party.
"I ask this at every listening tour: How many of you are going to back our nominee?" she told The Washington Post in an interview on Super Tuesday, two weeks before Trump's rout in the Michigan primary. "Every hand goes up. Everybody is going to."
McDaniel's fealty to the ticket was especially noteworthy because her uncle, Mitt Romney, spent much of 2016 as a Trump critic.
McDaniel's maiden name, which is often used in news stories, was not used in the news release announcing her new role.