RNC's McDaniel Vows to Pressure Presidential Debate Commission

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who's fighting to keep her position, said Monday that she's supporting a rules amendment that will prevent the GOP's 2024 presidential nominee from participating in any debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).

The 2023 RNC winter meeting will be held Wednesday through Friday in Dana Point, California, where a secret ballot on the final day will determine whether McDaniel will be reelected.

A source tells Newsmax that another focus at the meeting be on presidential debates.

"The RNC has a duty to ensure that its future presidential nominees have the opportunity to debate their opponents on a level playing field," McDaniel wrote in a letter to CPD leadership. "So long as the CPD appears intent on stonewalling the meaningful reforms necessary to restore its credibility with the Republican Party as a fair and nonpartisan actor, the RNC will take every step to ensure that future Republican presidential nominees are given that opportunity elsewhere.

"Accordingly, the RNC will initiate the process of amending the Rules of the Republican Party at our upcoming Winter Meeting to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in CPD-sponsored debates."

McDaniel on Monday tweeted a message to media outlets wanting to host CPD-sponsored presidential debates.

"NEWSFLASH for organizations considering applying to the Commission on Presidential Debates in response to their request for proposals: Don't waste your time. The GOP nominee will not be participating in any debate put on by the biased and flawed CPD," she tweeted.

"We tried for over a year to get fairness in the process. The CPD won't even commit to commonsense reforms like the ones we outlined below."

McDaniel attached a press release that included her letter to CPD co-chairs Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., and Kenneth Wollack.

The RNC chair wrote that CPD failed to address the following concerns:

Waiting until after early voting had already begun to host the first presidential debate.
Making unilateral changes to previously agreed-upon debate formats and conditions, in some cases without even notifying the candidates.
Selecting a moderator who had once worked for the Democrat nominee, a glaring conflict of interest.
Failing to maintain the organization's strict nonpartisanship, with a majority of its board members publicly disparaging the Republican nominee.

"The CPD must address these glaring failures if the organization is to have any credibility with the Republican Party and its 74 million voters moving forward," wrote McDaniel, who added that the CPD should enact the following much-needed reforms:

Adopt term limits for its board of directors, several members of which have served for more than a decade.
Commit to holding at least one debate before the start of early voting, and in no case after the deadline for states to mail absentee ballots to uniformed and overseas voters.
Enact a code of conduct prohibiting CPD officers, directors, and staff from making public comments supporting or opposing any candidate, or otherwise engaging in partisan political activity in connection with the presidential election, with meaningful consequences for violations.
Establish transparent criteria for selecting debate moderators that would disqualify individuals from consideration who have apparent conflicts of interest due to personal, professional, or partisan factors.
Enact a transparent code of conduct for moderators in conducting debates, including guidelines for appropriate interactions with the participating nominees, with meaningful penalties for violations.

The RNC initiated discussion in March about the debates. The CPD replied with a Dec. 14 letter that was unsatisfactory to McDaniel.