The vote for who will be the next RNC chair is fast approaching and both women vying for the spot are making their closing pitches. Incumbent Ronna McDaniel has taken a scorched-earth approach in her attempt to secure a fourth term, attacking Harmeet Dhillon as a liar and someone who doesn’t have the skillset necessary for the job.

McDaniel continued her criticism while appearing with Steve Bannon on his popular podcast on Friday. Things got awkward, though, when she couldn’t back up her accusations.

Hey Ronna you can’t call people liars then runaway when asked for the receipts to prove it! SMH! pic.twitter.com/eWaCkSUL4i

— Zeno Calhoun (@zenoc_oshits) January 20, 2023

After McDaniel against claims Dhillon has been spreading lies about her, Bannon challenges her to list examples. That’s when the stammering begins as it’s clear that the current RNC chairwoman doesn’t have any actual receipts to back up her complaints.

Eventually, after being pressed again, she settles on saying that the reporting on the RNC’s finances was misleading. That wasn’t Dhillon’s doing, though. That was RedState’s own Jennifer Van Laar, who busted the committee for lavish spending on retreats, donor gifts, and personal perks. Further, that reporting was completely factual, backed up by disclosures. That McDaniel still won’t take responsibility for any of the RNC’s shortcomings, many of which are a result of her decisions, is disqualifying, in my opinion.

As to this idea that Dhillon is running an underhanded campaign, I haven’t seen that at all. She’s been very consistent in her critiques, sticking to the issues and avoiding attacking McDaniel personally, though the same can’t be said the other way around (as the clip with Bannon shows).

This is why McDaniel needs to step down. She’s as bad as any politician in that she can’t admit her tenure hasn’t been perfect, and boy has it not been perfect. Since becoming RCN chair, Republicans have lost or severely underperformed in three straight elections. That’s a leadership problem, and McDaniel saying “oh, we don’t pick the candidates or give them messaging” is not an excuse. Why is the RNC not helping with those things? Why is there not a coherent, national party message to get behind?

I can’t say who will win this race in the end, but it feels like the momentum is with Dhillon. I believe the Republican Party will be better for it, if she takes the reins.