Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: Fundraising For The Future
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Welcome back to the Jason in the House podcast. Thanks for joining us. I'm Jason Chaffetz. And this week, we're going to talk a little bit about what's in the news. We're going to highlight the stupid because, you know, there's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere. And then we're going to phone a friend, Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

the RNC, you've seen her out there. She's been there for five years, done amazing things and a great success story. I think inspirational in what she's been able to accomplish. You know, sometimes they show up on the scene and you think, oh, wow, she's great. Or, oh, you get frustrated with her or whatever, but how did she get there? You know, and it didn't just happen. It happened for a reason because she worked hard and worked smart

And we'll have a little bit of a conversation with her about that. And hopefully it'll be a good one. And I think you'll enjoy it. But let's talk a little bit about a couple of things in the news that, I don't know, get under my skin a little bit. And we only have a few minutes to do this part of it. But, you know, in the last short little while, the U.S. national debt surpassed $30 trillion. Wow.

Now, just to give you some perspective, when I first ran for office back in 2008, I was complaining because the national debt was going to be something like $8 trillion. I was running radio ads about how $8 trillion is so big. And to just get your mind around it, if you spent $1 million a day every day,

It would take you almost 3,000 years to get to $1 trillion. That's how big that number is. So you think that we have $30 trillion. One of the biggest budget items now that's approaching on our federal government is the interest on that national debt.

The interest rate is down near zero, and yet we're approaching $1 billion a day in interest payment. So we can talk about roads, bridges, infrastructure, schools, the military. You just keep going down the list of things where maybe you would like to see us spend some money. But when you spend a billion dollars a day on interest on a national debt that continues to rise at record levels...

It is absolutely stunning and there will come a day of reckoning and I worry that there is no plan, no appetite to actually get to the point where this debt becomes under control. Personally, I think the solution to that is to have an amendment, a balanced budget amendment.

Throw it out to the states. Congress passed this out. Give it to the states. Let the states decide if we as a nation are actually going to balance our books. We would be so much better, stronger, stronger.

If we balanced our books and the inflation would not be nearly what it is today. If the government would rein in its own spending right now, the federal government is spending about one out of every $4. So think about it. All the money that's spent in our nation right now, the GDP, the gross national product is think about it. One out of every $4 is spent by the federal government. That's obscene. And we can't keep doing that.

Anyway, $30 trillion in debt. Congratulations, America. All right, the next thing I want to highlight is members hiring their relatives to do work. Nobody is the poster child of this more than Maxine Waters, the congresswoman out of Southern California. It was noted that since 2003, Karen Waters, who I believe is Maxine Waters' daughter, has received over $1 million in payment for

from her mother and her company, Progressive Connections, for campaign-related services.

I have a real hard time with members of Congress, candidates, paying their own immediate family to do things on the campaign. I just think that's a conflict of interest where that money keeps going right back into your own wallet. I understand that these jobs would have to be done anyway. And so, hey, why don't we just, you know, we might as well pay my wife or pay my daughter. I don't know. You decide whether or not you think that is true.

But back in 2004, the Los Angeles Times evidently revealed that the Waters campaign had shelled out over $1 million to other family members there in the Waters family. And now they're saying that Karen Waters has taken over a million dollars herself. So I don't know how many millions and millions of dollars it is.

But there's one example. And it's between that, the trading of stock, revisiting the Stock Act, which is a great prohibition that was put in place, but it's not being enforced. And it obviously needs to be tweaked because too many members are

using insider information potentially, and trading stocks while they're in these powerful positions, and then paying their own staff. These things just bother me to no end. So that's not even in the category of the stupid. That's just stuff that's happening in the news right now. So let's bring on the stupid because you know what? There's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere.

All right, I'm looking here now at Byron York is one of the great guys out there. I'm just telling you as a human being, as a writer, as an author, as a reporter, he does some great work and he's a wonderful guy. And he exposed something. He wrote about something that I just think is so stupid. So evidently, President Joe Biden picked Sarah Bloom Raskin. This is for a top job at the Federal Reserve.

And in the confirmation process, as the Senate confirmed position, it was revealed she had $1.5 million in stock that her husband, the Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, oops, oops, he failed to disclose the sale of $1.5 million in stock. And this has been years now. It violates the conflict of interest laws.

He was supposed to disclose this. Oops, I forgot to disclose. I'm sure the $1.5 million in stock transactions just accidentally slipped by them. This comes from Business Insider, and I've got to tell you, that is so wrong. How many times have we heard Congressman Jamie Raskin stand up? He helped on the Trump impeachment and other things.

Give us a morals lecture about how imperative it is that we do this and we do that. And then his own financial disclosure is totally wrong. There should be consequence for that. And there needs to be a clarification of that. And I don't buy his excuse, you know.

He did lose his son, and everybody was really, really sad about that. And evidently, this happened near that time. But you still have to do your job. You still have to do the disclosure, and everybody's going to understand if you were a few weeks behind. But to suggest that you're months or even years behind in disclosing this, that's just stupid. And then the last one for bringing on the stupid...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, Stacey Abrams. Have you seen the picture? Yep. She's running for governor, but, you know, she visited an elementary school. All the young little kids are wearing masks. Stacey Abrams sitting at the front of the class, big cheesy smile, no mask. You know, it's the duplicity. It's the hypocrisy that just drives people nuts.

If you're going to insist on a mask mandate, then you're going to have to wear a mask too. But here she is, just all smiles. Hey kids, smile for the camera. But she's not wearing a mask. And all the little kids are. They got that so absolutely wrong. I'm sorry, Stacey Abrams. Add this to the list of you're doing something stupid.

Now I really want to bring on somebody I have a great admiration for. Somebody who has worked hard, worked smart, always has a smile on her face, and just does, I think, an amazing job as the chairwoman for the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel. She has taken on this role. It's a tough role, tougher than anybody can imagine. So let's dial up Ronna McDaniel. Hello. Hello.

Ronna, hey, this is Jason Chaffetz. Thanks for joining us on the Jason in the House podcast. I do appreciate it. Hey, Jason. Oh, my gosh. I'm so excited to be on your podcast. Thanks for calling me. Well, I just had the chance to see you for a moment. You were in Utah and I live in Utah. So it was very it's good to see you actually in person, but even better to have a chance to actually chat through about some of the amazing accomplishments that you've you've had along the way.

Well, thanks. I'm so excited. It was really great to see you in Utah. And of course, I went to school in Utah. My daughter's actually at school out in Utah right now. And it was fun to see you and make that connection because if she needs somebody to reach out to, I know you're somebody who could help.

when mom's not around. Oh, yeah. We know how to beat some people up if that's what you need. But if she just needs some good old-fashioned homemade cookies, yeah, between... Well, my wife can help take care of that. We would love to do that. So anything we can do, let us know. Because you've got a big job. Ronna, you didn't go for like the simple, easy job in life. This is not a cushy way to like make a living and have an impact. You got one of the most difficult...

crazy jobs that I can think of as the chairwoman for the National Republican Committee. Like the Republican National Committee. That's a crazy thing to bite off. And why did you do this?

You know, I never planned it. I wish when I talk to other women getting into politics, I'm always like be intentional and and know that you can do things. I did not do that. I was a stay home mom and got involved as a precinct delegate and at my state committee and on my district committee. And then I was National Committee woman and then I was state party chair. And then we won Michigan and the president election.

Then President Trump called and said, will you be the head of the National Party? And I said, no way. And my husband actually turned to me and said, we can do this. We can do anything for two years. At the time, the term was two years. We are now five years in. So obviously I've taken a liking to it. And luckily the members have had the confidence to keep reelecting me in this role. Well, I think that's, you know, the fact that you started

at the humble beginnings of being, you know, in charge of a precinct, I think probably does make a world of difference because I think a lot of people would like your job. At least they think they would like your job. They don't understand how hard and difficult it is. But they just think they can either buy their way into it or just, you know,

glad hand their way into it, but that's not how it works. So tell us about that early time when you, you showed up at your precinct, like explain to people how grassroots that really is. Yeah. So, I mean, I grew up in politics, so like in the back of station wagons, going to campaign offices with my mom or handing out flyers at the library while other kids are playing soccer. But for when, when, when my husband and I moved back to Michigan, I was a young mom and I

I decided to run for something called precinct delegate, where you actually have to get on the ballot and run. And I was elected. It's the most grassroots role you can have in Michigan. There's thousands of precinct delegates. And then I started showing up to my county district meetings. I didn't know anyone. And just through building relationships and a passion for our community and our state,

got involved. I do think it has helped me tremendously as chair of the RNC, because I understand the grassroots. The RNC is a grassroots committee. And I've watched the DNC kind of parachute in people who've never run a state party or a county, and they really don't understand the organization of the Democrat Party. And I think

that ramp up time for them to have to learn that has hurt them where I've had the benefit of growing up through the ranks, which made me better. Of course, fundraising is a huge part of it too. I'd say it's about 80% of my time is fundraising. You're listening to Jason in the house. We'll be back with more of my conversation with chairwoman Ronna McDaniel right after this. Hi.

Hi, everybody. It's Brian Kilmeade. I want you to join me weekdays at 9 a.m. East as we break down the biggest stories of the day with some of the biggest newsmakers and, of course, what you think. Listen live or get the podcast now at BrianKilmeadeShow.com. All right. So there's two parts I want to break down here because, look, my success in politics, having jumped in

And, you know, I was going to be the for John Huntsman, who was running for governor. I was his communications person. Then he named me chief of staff. And I got to kind of learn how this all works on on his dime and at his at his peril. Although he did, he was successful and he did become the 16th governor of Utah. But I had to go figure this out. I had to go figure this out. What I don't even know exactly what a precinct was.

had to try to figure out how to organize this. What were you telling your neighbors and, and friends? Why should they elect you? Like what were you saying that you were going to do and why were you successful where maybe some others weren't? So I think a lot of it was my passion for my school. And I was very involved in the PTA locally in Michigan. And we,

At the time in our state, we had a terrible governor named Jennifer Granholm. You might know her now as the Secretary of Energy. She was horrible. And we had a huge budget crisis in our state to the extent where we had teachers being laid off because we couldn't pass a budget in our state. And some of them were the best teachers in our school being laid off and not knowing if they could come back for the school year simply because the state couldn't get it together or pass a budget.

So when you start having your conversations with your friends and other moms in the school about policies in Lansing directly affecting your family, like, do you know why this teacher is not back at school? Because our state government hasn't passed a budget yet.

It starts to bring people into the issues and having that passion really helped me connect with my neighbors and grow in this role. But it also propelled me to want to be involved because most people, you know, don't realize the policies that are being made in your state capital affect you directly in your home. And I think the pandemic has really brought that home to so many moms, especially as our kids grow.

In my state, weren't in school for a year and a half. My son's still having to wear a mask at school. I mean, we really are starting to understand the impact of government on our lives. So you used a couple words there that I think are just key for people who want to get more involved. You know, the number one question I probably get is,

when they're exasperated by the national policy or even a local policy and they're fed up and they're disgusted and they will, they always want to, you know, what can I do? What can I do? And use the word passion.

Because, and I've told this story more than a couple times, but I remember when I first ran for office, I met a guy who said he voted for me. And I said, why did you vote for me? He said, I just loved your energy. I just loved that you wanted to get after it. And I felt like you'd do a good job because you had the time and energy that maybe some others didn't. And that passion, I think, is contagious. Totally. People can feel it when you're authentic. Yeah.

And this is coming from a place that you really genuinely care about an issue on either side of the aisle, right, Jason? And so especially when it resonates in your own community. And for me, it was being part of my kid's school was a big part of why I got involved because I just thought it was crazy that our state couldn't pass a budget. But then it was more and more things. I mean, as we and this was around 2008 time heading into college.

the presidential election of Obama. But remember, our country suffered a huge recession, but Michigan was dealing with a one-state recession. So it was really personal watching friends of mine, lifelong Michiganders lose their homes, being foreclosed on, having to leave our state because there was no job for them here anymore. Sometimes their families had to be separated. So we were watching a lot of devastating events

effects of bad governance in our state. And it was personal. And I think that's what really gets people involved when you see it firsthand and you feel that authenticity from somebody running for the right reasons. Yeah. The combination of the energy, the enthusiasm,

And the policy too, because I think one of the things that you do exceptionally well, and one of the reasons you've been so successful is you're able to take a complex issue and break down the principle. I always...

you know, told kind of our young staff on campaigns and whatnot. And even in the congressional office, they said, look, principle over policy. If you get the principle right, then the policy will follow in behind it. So let's explain to people and understand what the principle is. And I don't know, you just do this naturally. You just kind of break it down and a complex issue. And I don't know where you got that talent. Do you like practice that when you're like seven years old and

I mean, where did that come from? No, it's mainly because I need it broken down that way for me. I mean, I remember coming to D.C. and I had a staffer talking to me about the filibuster. And I was like, people don't know what that means. They don't understand cloture and filibuster. And, you know, something Kellyanne Conway taught me is finish the sentence. A lot of times in politics, we talk in shorthand and deficit and, you know, just use words that

average Americans aren't thinking about every day. And so when you say to them, listen, you have to have over 60 votes to pass something in the Senate and the Democrats are trying to lower that threshold, which will really make it so the minority party has no voice. And that's not what our founders intended. People get that rather than just the word filibuster. And those are the types of things we need to do. But mainly I'm good at it because it has to be done for me. I'm not a Washington insider.

I feel like I'm a pretty average, regular citizen. I live in Michigan. Nobody knows who the RNC chair is in my community. I live pretty, you know, political free. I don't talk about politics every day when I go to the grocery store, the dry cleaners. And it helps you be more in touch with average people. Now, I mean, I'm just glad to see, you know, my whole time that I ran in Congress, I had a female campaign manager.

We need more women in politics. What are the impediments and what are the things we need to do to get even more women involved and engaged in running for office, running for precinct chairs, running for things that are on the ballots?

Yeah, I think that's a great question. And of course, we want to elect candidates based on the merit of the candidate, not because they're male or female. But we do need more women involved in politics because our voice matters. So when I was Michigan chair, we really actively tried to recruit women candidates. And, you know, we're not monolithic, but some of the issues that came up, one was the vitriol that

A lot of people are turned off by politics because of the vitriol you face. Jason, you and I certainly see that all the time. The balance issue, how do I balance all the things I have in my life, being a mom, my job, all the other things I have to do, and then running for office. I will say the third is, and this is something I dealt with a lot when I became Michigan chair, is

The networking, you know, I came from a different background. I wasn't in the boardroom. I wasn't on the golf course or at the country club. I was a stay home mom making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So when I first went out to raise money as Michigan chair, literally I had people slam the door in my face, call me a kindergartner, tell me I had no business, you know, basically being in the room with the big boys and.

And it was a huge struggle for me. It actually was much harder for me in that role than it has been as RNC chair raising money. And you just had to work hard to prove yourself and have a plan. But I think for women, funding is a key issue. And women don't just have to run more. They have to give more. You know, a lot of the top donors in our party are men.

Women like to give to philanthropic causes or other things, but we need to support women financially as well. No, it's, it's a great point because I've heard that locally, you know, in Utah, um,

about all these great women candidates, but unfortunately, and I don't think it's, it's not certainly just one state, but there is sort of this, Hey, wait a sec. You've got to take care of the kids. You got all these stereotypes that I just think are so 1940s or fifties that aren't true today. So what do you tell those, those women that are thinking about,

running, what they're going to run into. Cause I think if they anticipate it and they see it coming, it won't be so foreign and so abrupt in their life. So what do you tell the potential person who does want to run?

A lot of it's telling my story, too. And I mean, right now, Jason, we have more Republican women serving in Congress than in the history of our party. And that just happened. I mean, the huge wins that we had in 2020 were driven by women. And so Elise Stefanik created a PAC to help raise money for women. I know I talked to a lot of women candidates being only the second woman chair in the history of the party, only the second.

it helps to recruit people and have that conversation. So sometimes we'll have lunches or little events in DC where we just all get together and talk about what we're going through. And I think just having that ability to know you can talk to somebody and get through, through it. If there's an issue helps tremendously. I felt like one of the key things for me, at least in the campaign. And I, and I came to learn this the hard way, the people that wanted to volunteer on the campaign that had all the time in the world, um,

They usually turned out to be like not the most helpful, but it was always the people who were super busy. Like I have no time in my life to do this because once we convinced them that, hey, this would be a good expenditure of time and effort, then they figured it out and they knew how to budget time and they knew how to make the most of their time.

And there were so many women who were either stay-at-home moms or working moms or, you know, you name it, all up and down, newly retired people. There were so many people that wanted to give their time and effort if only they were asked.

It's so true. And a lot of people don't think they're qualified to run for office. They think there's a certain pedigree. You've got to be a lawyer. You've got to be this. You've got to have this background. And really, our country is better served by having people from every background. That was what the founders intended.

We want farmers. We want businessmen. We want moms. We want everybody to come and be this melting pot of ideas and different backgrounds so that we're representing our country. And I think there was an interesting, I think it was Wall Street Journal or something that said men will apply for a job if they're 60% sure they're qualified. Women often don't apply for a job unless they know they're 100% qualified. So you got to get over that hurdle and get past yourself and know that

that you can get it done, even if you're unsure of whether you're totally well-versed on every issue or can do this 100%, you'll get there. Yeah, I think it's actually the beauty of the system, you know, our republic here in the United States is that we do have people with different backgrounds. You don't have to have

100% rate on the money. Oh, I'm totally qualified to do all this. And I'm not talking about always running for the Senate or the United States Congress. It can be anything from your homeowners association to your school board to, I mean, it can be a host of other things.

But you did touch on, you've mentioned a couple times, fundraising. Now, I can tell you, having done this, fundraising sucks. I hate doing it. It is awful. But you blew through this. You've raised an amazing amount of money. And being the chair helps when you get a call from the chairwoman. But you learned to do this well before you became the actual chairwoman.

Yeah, it did. I mean, I actually like fundraising, which is great for this job. I'm going to get off the phone with you and do, you know, three to four hours of fundraising calls, but it is, it's never ending. You have to do it.

I love people. I love hearing their stories. It was really intimidating coming in as RNC chair. Nobody knew who I was and flying to New York City or California and Florida and getting in front of these business leaders and having to make the case as to why I'm the right investment. And they don't just give because you have an RNX chair name. These are investors. They're savvy investors.

And I'm asking for a big amount. So we've raised $1.3 billion since I've been chair. It's the most in the history of the party. And it's just a lot, a lot of work and building relationships. But most importantly, speaking to your investors in a way that they understand why they're giving. So the RNC does three specific things right now that investors are very interested in. One, we're

Doing voter registration, which is the nuts and bolts of every election. We've got to have more registered Republicans than Democrats to win. It's simple math. Two, we're involved in lots of legal actions like the non-citizens voting in New York City. We just sued on that. And then third is the community centers we're building across the country to reach out to minority communities and really expand our footprint as a party and reach out to individuals who've never really entered.

been introduced to the Republican Party and have habitually been Democrat. And we have 21 of those open right now. We'll be opening more through the year. There's a lot of buy-in in what we're doing that it will help us win in November, but also continue to grow the party. So if let's pretend you're thinking about running, doesn't matter your gender or whatever, but you're thinking about running and it's a smaller office. It's the first time you've run

How that, that formula of explaining exactly one, two, three, why you need the money and what you're going to do with it. But how do you, is there a secret to how you close people? How do you actually get them to write the check? You do not get what you do not ask for. It is amazing to me how many candidates I've been in a room with.

that don't ask for the check, that say, "Oh, I hope you'll support us," and they think that's enough. You need to have a definitive ask. Do your research, know what they're capable of giving,

know what they've given in the past. It's all publicly available on FEC reports and say, I'd like this money. I need a $10,000 check. And can you get it to me today or this week? And it's uncomfortable, but they expect it. And so you just do it. You don't get what you don't ask for. But I'll say one other thing I always say to candidates before they run, run an oppo package on yourself.

And make sure that everything that you find out about yourself, you're comfortable with being in the public eye because it is vitriolic. And you really should know what your opponent's going to come out against you with because that's a family decision. And you really have to know this is what's going to be said about me, whether it's true or not. It's going to be spun. But you've got to be comfortable with what's coming your way before you jump into that arena. Yeah.

Yeah, there are a lot of people who like, oh, I didn't think they would understand that. Yeah, your competitors will figure that out in a hurry, especially if you can do a 10-minute Google search and find it. It's probably going to come out. And the other thing that I was given advice about, Jim Hansen, who's since passed away,

He was a 22-year congressman from northern Utah, and he was the head of the Ethics Committee. He was chair of the Ethics Committee there in Congress for a long time. And he had retired, and I was newly elected, and I went and saw him, and I said, I don't know what I don't know, so tell me what I need to know. And one of the things he told me, he said...

I would worry less about the truth of your background because you've obviously been vetted at this point. If there was something really salacious or scary out there, it probably would have come out by now.

But now that you're there, all the things that they're going to say about you that aren't true are really hard to defend yourself against. So keep a steady chin out there. Don't don't flinch. Just tell it like it is. Be honest. Be forthright. Just whatever it is, just tell the truth. But you're going to have to fight against all the things that they're going to make up about you.

That's so true. And it's hard. It's hard not to respond. And I have this happen as RNC chair. You know, my dad or my brother will call me or my husband and they'll say, why are you responding to this? And I'm like, because it's not true. And I'm not going to give it oxygen. And if I responded to every single thing, I wouldn't be able to get the job done that I'm here to do.

And it is hard. It's almost harder on family members to see some of the dishonesty. And the media really isn't doing their job vetting stories anymore. It becomes kind of a viral disinformation chain. Once one outlet prints something that's not true, the rest of them go with it. They don't do their due diligence. But you can't get caught up in that. And as long as, like you said, you're doing what you came to do, you're telling the truth, you know what your mission is, and you stay focused on that.

you'll be successful. All right. So let's go back a little bit about little Rana. Like you said, you weren't out there playing soccer or doing whatever, you know, but you were passing out campaign leaflets. So explain what life was like in Michigan, little girl. I mean, you were doing some things that maybe the rest of your, your friends and your peers were, were not doing.

Totally. And my name, my name and my family is little Rana. I don't know if you know that because my mom's name is Rana also. So I like even my cousins to this day, you know, I'm, I'm in my, I'm above 30. Let me put it that way. We'll be like, Hey, little Rana. So in Michigan, that's what I'm known as. But my mom worked on campaigns since when I was a little girl, piling us in the station wagon, going out,

She would do fundraising. My grandpa was governor of Michigan. So it was just part of our family's DNA to talk about politics and be involved. And I did that as a very, very young girl all the way through high school. My mom ran for Senate. My dad ran for attorney general. They both lost. Many people know my uncle, Mitt, who ran for president, but he was also governor of Massachusetts.

and now Senator of Utah. So it was just part of everyday life in our family, the importance of getting involved politically. And that came from my grandpa, George Romney, and my mom, mainly. So there's an importance, there's a tradition really kind of in your family along the way, but not everybody can do it. So where did you learn to like speak? And I mean, it's,

I say that with a smile on my face because it's a real talent and it does come with experience. The more you do it, the better you get. I mean, were they putting you up on a little pedestal there and say, hey, Kate Little Rana, give it your best? I mean, where did that come from? Some people would just get shy. I'll tell you what,

Yeah, I learned to speak really young. I remember my mom's campaign. When my mom ran for Senate in 1994, I came home from college and worked on her campaign. And her campaign started putting me out. And they put me at one event where it was very, very hostile. And they were screaming at me and they were mad at my mom about something. So I learned at a young age. I was probably like 19 or 20 when that happened. And then I'll give you one other fun story.

because my name was Ronna Romney and my mom's name was Ronna Romney on the 4th of July, they would double us up on parades everywhere. So they put her in a parade and me in a parade next to a woman who looked like her. So it looked like she was in the parade too. So,

So it was very, very convenient having the exact same name as my mom. It got less convenient as I got older. I love being Ronna McDaniel now, but it was fun back then that we could double up and they get, we'd have two Ronna Romneys canvassing the state speaking on behalf of her Senate race. You know, it was funny. I refused to be the guy that was in political office that was writing in the fancy car in the parade. I insisted on walking every single parade. And I think people,

they understood the difference. I just wasn't going to be the person who was just waving from some, you know, nice car. So we went to this big parade. It was the Provo Freedom Festival. And there's literally like over 100,000 people on this parade route.

Well, my son-in-law and our daughter rode in the car that said Jason Chaffetz on it. But my wife and I were walking right behind it. And the number of people that looked and said, oh, hey, Congressman. And then they're looking a little closer at my son-in-law. Doesn't exactly look like they were a little confused. And then.

You know, 20 seconds behind them was where Julie and I were walking behind. It was pretty funny. But you could pull that off with Ronna and little Ronna. That actually makes some sense. It was pretty funny. Yeah, we did a lot of that. And I was her driver. But my mom's a great public speaker. My grandfather, George Romney, was an exceptional public speaker. So I grew up.

really listening to them. And my grandmother was also the first woman to ever get the nomination for Senate in Michigan. Her name was Lenore Romney, and she was a terrific public speaker as well. So I think part of it was just listening to them and being around those events. I'm not saying I'm a great public speaker, but I certainly had a lot of them in my life. That's one of the things that does help if you are considering running as a candidate. And the other thing that I just can't

emphasize enough is not everybody's going to be the candidate. There's still so much that can be done and involved. I would not have won my races if not for a whole lot of good volunteers who just helped. They did the grunt work. They came out Saturday mornings. They made phone calls. They put up the door knockers. I mean, and it's,

Ultimately, races that get won are the ones that are done precinct by precinct, neighborhood by neighborhood. Totally. And that's actually where I'm more comfortable. I like knocking doors. I like doing the phone banks. My kids, I taught them how to do the phone banks. I always tell people, take your kids door knocking. It's character building for them. But people are nicer to you when you have little children with you or pets.

But I love that stuff I always struggle on election day not being out there knocking doors, now that i'm rnc chair, because that is just my natural habitat. And i've never really been a candidate i've been rnc chair I love helping the strategy and the organization to elect great candidates and but you're those volunteers.

And those people that give their time and believe in you and love this country so much who are behind the scenes, they are the reason we win. And they're the reason that we're going to be victorious in November, because the passion they have for our country and their willingness to volunteer their time is so exceptional. And I love, love, love our grassroots volunteers. I actually have come up with an award recently.

As I go to these community centers called the Chairman's Champion Award, and I'm giving it to the top volunteers across the country. And it's really inspiring for me to see these amazing people. You're listening to Jason in the House. We'll be back soon. Stay with us.

How do you, do you see any difference, you know, the world has really changed. I remember as a young kid, my parents would bring me to, you know, the voting booth and, you know, they have that little curtain that kind of goes side to side and they'd punch the

tabs or whatever and and they would vote you'd stand in line in order to do so and it was the day that you voted but now so much of it is mail-in ballots and I mean how do you build a tradition where the younger generation understands recognizes and values the idea that voting is is such a privilege it's a duty it's an honor it's it's something that's really important how do you how do you deal with that with the change in the way voting's happening?

That's a great question. I think, you know, I still make my kids go with me to the voting booth. I mean, I like to vote in person personally. I do think we've gotten away from that. I actually would love for everybody to vote on election day. I think that'd be great. But, you know, I took my daughter. My daughter turned 18 last year and we went and voted for just a local ballot initiative. And we went in and

did that together for her first time voting. And, and it was really special. Of course she voted for who I told her to vote for, which I liked that too. But I think,

taking them and creating that habit. But then also if you're doing absentee, bringing them in as you're filling out the ballot, going on the websites, learning about the candidates, showing that you care, explain why you're voting for them. My son and I had a nice long conversation on the way to church yesterday about what it means to have non-citizens vote like in New York. And we talked about that. And he's like, mom,

why do we have to talk politics on the way to church? I'm like, because I have you in my car and you're going to learn something. But it's great. Yeah. I really do believe everybody should vote on the same day with the same information. Whether we extend it for two or three days, I'm fine with that. Maybe, you know, Tuesday is not the most convenient day, but...

I really wish that we would vote with all the same information. It's amazing how the campaign changes in the last 30 days of the campaign. First of all, the media focuses. More articles come out. More revelations happen. But oftentimes voting is started...

And then they'll have a debate. And I'm like, wait a sec, how can you have the vote without having the debate first? It just seems backwards to me. It's crazy. Well, you know, in 2020, which is part of our, we're having a little bit of a scuffle with the commission on presidential debates, but

But they had the first debate after 26 states had started absentee voting and all 50 states had started their military voting. I mean, that's wrong. And I totally agree with you. Listen, you have a finish line to a race for a reason. So the competitors know what they need to do to get to that finish. And we keep changing the finish line. And it's hurting the competitors, the people who are running the race, and also the voters because we're not getting the full picture.

And it's not about anything other than, like you said, having every voter have the same amount of information, all the information with a finite finish line, which I think our candidates deserve. I don't care if it's two, three days. We all have work off. I think we should all be voting in person on those election days. Yeah. Amen to that. I wholeheartedly agree. But

Anyway, we can get into a whole rabbit hole of discussion about states and how that works and whatnot. But as we kind of wrap up here, I've got some rapid questions just to get you a little bit better. But again, one last word to those who are interested.

On the fence, should I volunteer? Should I not volunteer? What if I call somebody and they get mad at me? Like what do you, those that have just, I mean, it's natural, right? Nobody wants to be told no. Nobody wants people to yell at them. Nobody wants to, but they want to help. They want to be involved. And so, you know, you can donate money, but you can also donate your time. So what do you tell the people that are maybe just a little bit hesitant and trying to decide whether or not to get involved?

Well, one, go to GOP.com because we can get you involved and we'll reach out to you. But I say go find a candidate you believe in or cause you believe in and dedicate some time to that, maybe two, three hours a week and see how it goes. But that's how you find your footing and see if this is something for you. The one thing I would say, Jason, is you can't make a change if you're sitting on the sidelines.

And the only way you can make a difference if you're passionate about our country or any issue is if you engage. So if you get involved with the campaign and they're not receptive and they're not engaging with you, go find another campaign. Don't be discouraged by that. Or then go run yourself.

But everyone at this time in our nation's history needs to get engaged because we really are at a pivot point of what is the United States of America going to be. And as we're seeing the high inflation and the empty grocery store shelves and our parents being kept out of decisions in our kids' classroom and on issue after issue, I can't think of a time that is more important to get involved. And you don't want to wake up after Election Day and say, how did this happen?

well, if you didn't do anything to change it, that's how bad things happen. So get involved. Well, you're a great voice for the party. I just, I just, the straightforwardness and the clarity in which you share that

message and that encouragement. I can tell why you're the chairwoman. Thank you. So, all right. But we want to learn a little bit more about you. So I don't care how many fundraising calls you've made along the way. You're not properly prepared for these questions. All right. All right. I'm buckling up right now. Okay. Buckle up. Okay. All right. Favorite menu item at Taco Bell? What is it? The double-decker supreme. Oh, yeah.

You go for it. That's good. All right. At least you didn't just say taco. That's that's very, very rarely do I go to Taco Bell, but I have a teenage son and a double decker supreme without tomatoes is really good. All right. First concert you attended.

Okay, it was Michael Jackson Thriller concert, but it was the Jackson 5 altogether. Okay, you're the only other person that's come up with that. My first concert was Michael Jackson, but it was like, I think the Jackson 5 concert.

This is back in the late 80s, and this is at Denver's Mile High Stadium. And I'm pretty sure it was him. My seats were so far away that I'm not 100% sure that it was him. But it sounded like him and looked like him. They didn't have the big jumbotrons like they have now. But, yeah, Michael Jackson. I don't remember very well. My aunt took me. I was probably 11. It was the –

It was like 1984 or something. And I, um, it was right when like the, the thriller album came out. It was, I felt like the coolest kid at school. You know how you get your concert t-shirt and then you wear it the next day. It was pretty amazing. I think for our daughter, the answer is Taylor Swift. And this was a daddy daughter date. I took her to the Taylor Swift concert and she had made a handmade sign that

that she was convinced that Taylor was going to read. And finally, you know, three quarters of the way through the concert, I, I told her, I said, Kate, I think she saw the sign and she was so happy. And then she finally put it down, which is what I was, but Taylor Swift puts on a great concert. And I took my daughter to see Taylor Swift too. I also took my daughter to see One Direction.

where it was so loud that we had to go to first aid and get earplugs because of the screaming. Yeah, no, that's a good advice for young. Yeah, the earplugs now that I'm older. And when I was younger, I wish. Yeah. Anyway, what was your high school mascot? We were the Lasser Knights, like a knight in shining armor. Yeah, well, there you go. Doesn't exist anymore. But yes, it was a great school. Who was your first celebrity crush?

Oh, this is so easy. Not only celebrity crush, but celebrity stalker. I stalked him. Kevin Costner. I loved Kevin Costner after Field of Dreams and Dances with Wolves. And my college roommates and I actually went to California. My roommate was from California and we figured out where he lived and

And we drove by his house many, many times. And one day he was outside and we knocked on his gate and he opened his gate for us and took pictures with us. Seriously, what a nice guy.

He was so nice. I was at Brigham Young University and he asked where we went to school and he's like, that's such a great school. And his daughter, he was playing basketball with his kids, which is like, I can't believe we did this. We were so terrible, but he opened up his gate and his daughter took pictures of us with him. I still have it.

What a super nice guy. Wow. That's going above and beyond to actually open up the gate. But, you know, young 20-year-old girls, he probably wasn't that big of a threat. I know. It was on my 21st birthday. I'll never forget it. It was on my 21st birthday. And so you just coincidentally happened to be a fan of the series Yellowstone, I'm guessing. It's just one of your shows that you're watching. Yes, my husband loves that show.

I like it for different reasons. I like Kevin Costner. Well, I'm impressed. That is definitive. So, yes. Did you have a pet growing up? So I'm allergic to dogs. Deathly allergic. Like, I have to have a note on the plane. I can't be near dogs. It's so sad. I love dogs. My son one day was like, Mom, if you die, can we get a dog? And I'm like, yeah, you could. And he's like, I'd rather have you. I'm like, thanks. I'm glad you made that choice. Glad you're thinking that through. Yeah.

But we had a dog and that's when the dog died. We realized that was what was making me so sick as a little girl. So we had snakes, mice, birds, lizards. None of them were my favorite. I still would rather have the dog, even though it made me sick. I love dogs. It's the saddest thing that I can't have. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go from the high of Kevin Costner to the low of dogs. That's okay. Thanks for making me cheer up, Jason. Yes, I'm so sorry. All right. Life's most embarrassing moment.

Oh, I'm never going to share that with you. There's so many. That's why we want to know. That's, that's, that's the one, that's the one story. I don't really, I will say my poor, my poor RNC staff, we went to Guam like two years ago, you know, Guam's a territory. People don't realize the 50 states, but also seven territories, which we love our territories. And,

And Guam is just so amazing. And the people are so nice, the Chamorro people and just a wonderful place. But I did get in my hotel room, go on the balcony, enjoying the view, and then realized I locked myself on the balcony. So that was kind of embarrassing to have to get the hotel management to break into my room. Luckily, I had my phone. Otherwise, I would have been out there forever. You would have been there for a while. Yes, no, no doubt about it. All right. Last question. Best advice you ever got?

That's, um, I will say this, the best advice I ever got was one of my first jobs in DC. And it wasn't, it wasn't intended to be nice. But this man said to me, just remember, you're always replaceable in my job. And I was like, Oh, that's not very nice. But it is, you know, when you get into a job, it's important to know that

You've got to do a good job that somebody wants your job. I don't think that advice is true as a mom or as a wife, but it's always humbling to think, you know, if I'm not RNC chair, somebody else can do it. So do your best job while you're there.

Well, yeah, I mean, give it your all. Give it an effort. People are going to make mistakes. But I guess it's the when you said that, I thought, yeah, you know, it's the people that are lazy and don't take it seriously. Like we actually had to dismiss somebody in our office who showed up as an intern and decided that work time was nap time. And that was that was that wasn't going to work for us.

At that stage in my career, it was important because it made me hustle harder and work harder and know that the job wasn't just a given. I had to keep earning it every day. Well, you've certainly done that and more. I think you're a great example to a lot of people that you've never met or never seen before. You're a great voice for the party.

on issues that really, really matter. And so I wish you nothing but the greatest success. And I thank you for stepping up and being involved and being engaged. And we need more good quality people to decide that, you know what, even though there's a little bit of a price to pay, it's worth it and you can make a difference. And this country is run at the local level. You don't have to be at the national big time level to have the influence and the impact of

And I think that's why you rose to become the chair is because you did have that impact at the local level. Those things happen first.

It does. And just thank you, Jason. You've always been so nice to me from the minute I started as chair. I just think you're one of the most amazing people. And I hope everybody knows he's a great guy off podcast and on podcast. But you're such a great voice for our party. But you can get involved. It's important to get involved.

Ignore all the bad things because the value and the blessings of getting involved outweigh any of the negatives. And it's been a long five years in this role, but you do feel the joy of knowing you're making a difference.

Well, thank you again for joining us on the Jason in the House podcast. The chairwoman of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel, really do appreciate your time, and thanks for joining us today. Thanks for having me. Well, I can't thank Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, for joining us. She's just wonderful. You can see she's just got a smile on her step, and I just...

It's contagious and she's raised $1.3 billion. That's a lot of money to raise with campaign limits out there. That's impressive. But I also think she does a great job on policy.

And you know what? She does a good job of balancing out her life. She's got a wonderful family there. So can't thank her enough. Thank you so much for listening to the Jason in the House podcast. Need you to rate this thing. Click those stars if you could. Subscribe to it. And you can also wander over to foxnewspodcast.com if you'd like to hear other similar programs or podcasts. But we appreciate you rating it and reviewing it. We'll be back with more next week.

I'm Jason Chaffetz, and this has been Jason in the House.