Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has claimed that there is a “deep bench” of GOP presidential candidates.
McDaniel made the comment on Sunday’s episode of CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“It could be a big stage… I think it speaks about the deep bench we have. I mean, we have so many great governors, senators, congressional leaders, business leaders, a former president. We have such a great bench of candidates,” McDaniel said.
Former President Trump, neocon Nikki Haley, and political activist Vivek Ramaswamy are the only Republican candidates who have announced their campaigns.
Other likely candidates include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, though neither has announced their intent at the time of publishing this story.
“I look at the Democrats, what they’re doing to limit any competition to Biden,” McDaniel said. “Why? Because Joe Biden came in eighth. So that is a president who’s weak, who’s worried about competition from his own party, and we have a broad bench ready to run for president.”
McDaniel said that the party would likely request that primary candidates commit to backing whoever the eventual nominee is.
“I expect that they will accept the results in 2024. I’m not — I don’t know who that person is right now. But, yes, we’re going to accept the results. And we’re going to move forward and work to govern this country. But I think they’re going to accept the results because they’re going to be the president,” McDaniel said.
Republican voters will decide the Republican nominee, and anyone getting on the Republican National Committee debate stage should be able to say they will support the will of the voters and the eventual nominee of our party. pic.twitter.com/vvXN1Tl3Qx
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) February 26, 2023
In a tweet with a clip from her interview, McDaniel wrote, “Republican voters will decide the Republican nominee, and anyone getting on the Republican National Committee debate stage should be able to say they will support the will of the voters and the eventual nominee of our party.”
