Tag Archive for: michael whatley

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Revs Up Election Integrity Efforts With Midterms Fast Approaching

/in , , , , , , , , , , , /by

STERLING, Va. — A crowd of Republican attorneys, voters and poll watchers piled into a classroom as Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley took the podium.

“Protect the Vote” signs lined the walls of the room in West Springfield Governmental Center for an election integrity training as Whatley stressed the importance of securing the vote in Virginia.

A crowd of roughly 50 Virginians attended the July 24 training, where they were briefed on the different roles they could play in the 2026 midterms and how to apply for those positions.

A little more than a year out from the midterm elections, the RNC is ramping up its efforts to help Republicans maintain their majority in the House and Senate. The election integrity training in the heart of northern Virginia is just the beginning of those efforts, Whatley told the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview.

“As we go into 2026, it’s building on what we built in ’24 and really through expanding the map,” Whatley told the Caller.

Whatley said the party will be focusing on Senate races in Georgia, North Carolina, Maine, Michigan and Kentucky. There are critical congressional seats they will be paying attention to as well, including in deep blue states like New York and California.

But above all, it’s about building on the momentum created in 2024.

For nearly 40 years, the GOP was subject to a 1982 consent decree, which was enacted following a lawsuit from the Democratic National Committee, that neutered the party’s ability to engage in election integrity lawsuits. The decree was lifted in 2018.

The party first began diving into the election integrity realm in 2022, an official told the Caller last year. By 2024, the election integrity division became an official department that included communications, politics, and legal arms, the Caller previously reported.

In the 2024 election cycle, the RNC filed more than 100 election integrity lawsuits across 20 states, according to the party’s website. The GOP recruited 230,000 volunteers and 6,500 lawyers, Whatley told the Caller, who personally stood by on election day and addressed issues across the country.

Since Trump won in November, the party has moved to ramp up its election integrity efforts. Specifically, the GOP has probed states to clean up their voter rolls. With that project underway, this year the party has a larger legal budget for election integrity issues, Whatley told the Caller.

“We need to be working with different state parties than we necessarily worked with in the past. We need to make sure that we expand this out and have the boots on the ground for election integrity in every one of those states,” Whatley told the Caller.

“What we’re doing right now is we’re building that program in Virginia, in New Jersey because of the governor races and the legislative races that we have here. Very, very important for us to make sure that we’ve got the system in place,” Whatley told the Caller.

At Thursday’s training session, a GOP Election Integrity staffer gave an hour-long presentation to the attendees, stressing the need for more volunteers to counteract the number of volunteers the Democrats have been able to secure.

Most of the training was spent informing attendees on what qualifies them to be poll workers, poll watchers and other election-related officials. The RNC official also told attendees of a new rule that allows high school students who recently turned 18 to become poll workers.

The official also encouraged attendees to be either a poll watcher or poll worker during early voting periods and then swap roles on Election Day. Many attendees scanned the QR sign-up link provided during the presentation to sign up for the application process.

Following the presentation, several attendees enthusiastically asked questions, traded stories and connected with each other. Some, who were already poll watchers, stood up and stressed how important it was for those in the room to join their efforts, repeating that they desperately needed more volunteers because the Democratic party often has more people involved.

Others shared stories of suspicious behavior at polling locations that they either witnessed or heard about, which inspired them to attend the training.

It’s that concern among Republican voters that is the crux of the RNC’s election integrity effort.

“I can tell you that every single event that I go to anywhere in the country, if we do a Q&A, one of the first questions that I get asked is about election integrity,” Whatley told the Caller. “Every single time, every place we go, it continues to be a very top-tier issue.”

“So we’re going to make sure that we’re in a position that we’re leading this fight, and we’re being seen as leading this fight,” Whatley added, stressing that communicating the work the party has done helps give Americans the confidence to vote.

The RNC’s election integrity work has the full backing of President Donald Trump, Whatley told the Caller, adding that the Department of Justice has also been instrumental in helping with its efforts.

“To the degree that we can provide information or we can provide support for what they’re doing, we want to do that,” Whatley told the Caller.

Whatley said having former RNC member Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights “is absolutely fantastic.” He also celebrated Dave Warrington, who is now White House Counsel, but was the RNC’s lead attorney during the 2024 Trump campaign.

“There’s a lot of effort around the country right now to make sure that we’re ready,” Whatley said.

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House Correspondent

RELATED ARTICLES:

EXCLUSIVE: RNC Deploys Election Integrity Team To New Jersey, Virginia In Midterm Blitz

Despite Trump Win, RNC Keeps Foot On The Gas With Election Integrity Efforts

EXCLUSIVE: RNC Election Integrity Unit Probes States To Keep Voter Rolls Clean

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

EXCLUSIVE: RNC Recruited Hundreds Of Thousands Of Volunteers, Thousands Of Lawyers To Ensure Election Integrity

/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) director of election integrity and senior advisor for election integrity sent a memo Monday to RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump showing they have recruited hundreds of thousands of volunteers, thousands of attorneys and held thousands of trainings ahead of the November elections, the Daily Caller has first learned.

According to the memo from the RNC’s director of election integrity, Gineen Bresso, and senior advisor for election integrity, Josh Helton, the RNC has “devoted unprecedented resources” to making sure election integrity is in place across the country. The memo explains their achievements and what else they hope to accomplish before the elections. The memo also states that the RNC has hired over 115 paid staff to facilitate volunteer training at the state level.

As of Monday, there have been 219,712 total volunteers recruited, 2004 total trainings held, and 5,077 total attorneys recruited, according to the memo.

The memo also goes on to explain the field program, legal program and communications program in regards to election integrity.

“Our field program is designed to recruit and train poll watchers and recruit poll workers whom we then submit to relevant in-state credentialing authorities. We do this by holding continuous recruitment and training events both in-person and online. Combining these two populations, we are proud to share that we have recruited more than 200,000 volunteers in total nationwide,” the memo reads.

It then says that the field program is divided among 18 states, which are categorized as the following:

  • Presidential Battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
  • Reach States: Minnesota, New Hampshire, Virginia
  • Additional Key Senate States: Florida, Montana, Ohio, Texas
  • Additional Key Congressional States: California, New York
  • CD States (States with congressional districts that have their own electoral votes): Maine, Nebraska

READ THE MEMO HERE: 

(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers

The legal program includes links to key ongoing cases across the U.S. as well as key victories. The RNC says they have engaged with 123 lawsuits in 26 states ahead of the election.

“We have a team of full-time lawyers on staff at RNC headquarters, who are in direct and constant contact with our retained in-state counsels across the country. Retaining in-state counsel gives us a key edge in litigation: our field lawyers are barred in their states, familiar with the situation on the ground, and provide tremendous value by managing stakeholders, identifying legal opportunities, and providing key information as legal issues that will decide this election evolve in key states,” the memo continues.

“Thus far in the cycle, we have engaged in 123 lawsuits in 26 states, 82 of which are in battleground states, designed to uphold basic election integrity safeguards and protect the system from Democrats devoted to creating election day chaos.”

As for the communications program, the election integrity team for the RNC believes the “centerpiece” of their communications strategy has been to generate local press coverage by holding “Protect The Vote Tour” events across the country, saying there have been over 20 stops on the tour so far and linking to local outlets covering the events.

“In addition to this local-press driven engagement, you have both conducted hundreds of interviews with national and local press to drive our election integrity messaging into every major media market in America. Specifically, Chairman Whatley and Co-Chair Trump have combined for 446 interviews since early March mentioning election integrity,” the memo states.

“The RNC’s election integrity efforts – both in the field and in the courtroom – are unprecedented. As voting begins, we feel confident in our program’s ability to see, engage, and resolve issues that arise. We have lawyers on call, volunteers trained, and a communications apparatus capable of delivering our message,” it concludes.

Whatley and Trump told the Caller:

“With less than five weeks until Election Day, we are confident in the capacity of President Trump and the RNC’s election integrity program to win court battles and put volunteers in the room as votes are being cast and counted. Our program is designed to deliver fair, accurate, secure, and transparent elections — the American people deserve nothing less.”

AUTHOR

Henry Rodgers

Chief national correspondent. Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Trump Campaign Raises $160M In September With Just Weeks Left Until Election

EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Demand DOJ Enforce ‘Basic’ Election Integrity Law

‘They Are Miles Ahead’: Despite ‘Election Integrity’ Hype, GOP Could Be Walking Into 2024 Legal Buzzsaw

ROOKE: Walz Solidifies Harris Policy Position That Would Transform Country As We Know It

EXCLUSIVE: Eric Schmitt, GOP Senators Press FBI Over ‘Indefensible’ Mishandling Of Child Sexual Abuse Cases

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Nevada Hit With GOP Lawsuit Over ‘Impossibly High’ Voter Registration

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

Lara Trump is doing the heavy lifting.

Very impressive right out of the gate.

Can real reform come before November?

State Official Faces Lawsuit From GOP Over ‘Impossibly High’ Voter Registration

BY: Daily Caller, March 19, 2024;

Story continues below advertisement

The Republican National Committee (RNC) slapped Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguliar with a lawsuit on Friday, alleging that the state has “impossibly high” voter registration rolls.

The lawsuit alleges that the state of Nevada is failing to maintain the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) which mandates that voter rolls must keep “clean and accurate voter registration records.” The RNC is alleging that according to their analysis, five of Nevada’s 17 counties have inflated voter rolls which they say indicates a violation of the NVRA, the lawsuit claims.

“Election integrity starts with clean voter rolls, and that’s why the National Voter Registration Act requires state officials to keep their rolls accurate and up-to-date,” RNC Co-Chair Michael Whatley wrote in a Monday press release. “Nevada has universal mail voting and no voter ID requirement, which makes Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar’s failure to comply with the NVRA and provide accurate voter rolls all the more concerning. Securing clean voter rolls in Nevada is a critical step towards ensuring that it will be easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

“At least three Nevada counties have more registered voters than they have adult citizens who are over the age of 18,” the lawsuit alleges. “That number of voters is impossibly high.”

The lawsuit alleges that two counties in Nevada have active voter registration rates that surpass 90% of adult citizens over the age of 18. That number, the RNC alleges in its lawsuit, “far eclipses” the voter registration rate nationwide and at the state-level in elections recently…

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

RELATED ARTICLES:

RNC Fires over 60 Staffers amid Trump Takeover Reshuffle – EVOL

Biden Business Partner Dropping Bombs on House Hearing on Biden Corruption, Exposes Reps. Jamie Raskin and Dan Goldman for Lying on Behalf of the Biden Crime Family

REPORT: Electronic Registration Information Center Deemed 168,000 Dead Or Relocated Virginians ‘Eligible But Unregistered’ To Vote

Democrats Forced To Admit How Radical The Party Has Become On Abortion

Hunter Biden’s Business Partner Testifies the Bidens Were Selling “The Brand.” And “The Brand” was Joe Biden

FACT CHECK: Donald Trump’s ‘Bloodbath’ Comment Taken Out Of Context

Democrats Can’t Even Win On Their Own Made Up Issue

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

RNC Members Elect Michael Whatley, Laura Trump & Trump Allies For Leadership Roles

/in , , , , , /by

Members of the Republican National Committee (RNC) elected a replacement for former Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel after she stepped down Friday.

McDaniel previously announced that she would resign at the RNC’s March 8 convention following reports that she had met with former President Donald Trump and told him she would step down. The members voted to replace McDaniel with North Carolina party Chairman Michael Whatley. The party also elected Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, and senior Trump adviser Chris LaCivita, who will run the committee’s operations, according to The Washington Post.

“Thank you to the 168 members of the RNC and President Trump for entrusting me to serve as RNC Chairman,” Whatley tweeted shortly after being elected. “We are already well on our way to making Joe Biden a one-term President, and I look forward to working with every Republican to deliver victories up and down the ballot!

McDaniel has been chairwoman of the RNC since 2017 and was previously backed by Trump before heading the party. In the last several months, McDaniel came under fire for several botched election cycles, dwindling funds and the party’s handling of its most recent debate cycle.

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy publicly called for McDaniel’s resignation during a Republican presidential debate after blasting the party for selecting NBC News to host that night’s debate. Ramaswamy also characterized the Republican Party as losers under McDaniel’s leadership.

“Since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022 — no red wave … We got trounced last night in 2023. And I think that we have to have accountability in our party,” Ramaswamy said before adding that he would cede his time to McDaniel if she wanted to resign.

McDaniel first told Trump that she planned to resign shortly after the South Carolina primary, sources told The New York Times (NYT). Following the reports, and then eventually McDaniel’s announcement, Trump endorsed Whatley for the chair position and Lara Trump and LaCivita for supporting roles.

“@LaraLeaTrump and I are steadfast in our commitment to get out the vote, protect the ballot, and elect Donald J. Trump and Republicans from coast to coast this November,” Whatley tweeted.

McDaniel’s RNC co-chair and South Carolina party chairman Drew McKissick also resigned from his position following the reports of a leadership shake up.

“[I’m] willing to put self aside for the sake of building a team and focusing on winning is a big part of being successful. With that in mind, I’m submitting my resignation as Co-Chair, effective upon the election of my successor at the upcoming Spring Training in Houston,” McKissick wrote in a statement.

“The RNC MUST be a good partner in the Presidential election. It must do the work we expect from the national Party and do it flawlessly,” Trump previously said in a statement. “That means helping to ensure fair and transparent elections across the country, getting out the vote everywhere — even in parts of the country where it won’t be easy — and working with my campaign, as the Republican presumptive nominee for President, to win this election and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

AUTHOR

REAGAN REESE

White House Correspondent.

RELATED ARTICLES:

‘I’m Sure She’s A Nice Lady’: RNC Scrambles To Defense Of Ronna McDaniel After Viral Vivek Call-Out

The RNC Said This Time Would Be Different, Yet The First Two Debates Have Conservatives Frustrated And Disappointed

POST ON X:

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Ronna McDaniel Announces Resignation As RNC Chair

/in , , , , , /by

Ronna McDaniel has announced she will resign as the chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), according to multiple reports.

McDaniel assumed the chairmanship of the RNC in 2017 with the support of former President Donald Trump, though her leadership has been criticized for a series of electoral losses for the Republican Party. McDaniel said on Monday that she would resign on Monday and noted that she would depart in early March.

“I have decided to step aside at our Spring Training on March 8 in Houston to allow our nominee to select a Chair of their choosing,” McDaniel wrote in a statement reported by NBC News. “The RNC has historically undergone change once we have a nominee and it has always been my intention to honor that tradition.”

Under McDaniel’s chairwomanship, the RNC had launched a program known as “Bank Your Vote” to ensure that Republican voters cast their ballots early in electoral cycles. She had also aggressively pursued lawsuits and efforts to ensure election integrity, amid skepticism of election laws in Democratic-run states.

On Feb. 12, two weeks before McDaniel’s announcement, Trump endorsed Michael Whatley, chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, to succeed her as RNC chair and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to become the co-chair. In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, Lara Trump indicated that she would continue early voting efforts and election integrity during her co-chairmanship.

“Some of my proudest accomplishments include firing Nancy Pelosi, winning the popular vote in 2022, creating an Election Integrity Department, building the committee’s first small dollar grassroots donor program, strengthening our state parties through our Growing Republican Organizations to Win program, expanding the Party through minority outreach at our community centers, and launching Bank Your Vote to get Republicans to commit to voting early,” McDaniel said.

AUTHOR

ARJUN SINGH

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Trump Makes Endorsement For RNC Chair

Lara Trump Tells CPAC What She’d Do As RNC Co-Chair

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.