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#Rep. Lee Zeldin eyeing run to lead Republican National Committee

“Rep. Lee Zeldin eyeing run to lead Republican National Committee”

Outgoing GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Suffolk) is eyeing a run for chair of the Republican National Committee following his shockingly close race against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“I am very seriously considering your requests and am grateful for your messages,” Zeldin told committee members in a letter sent Thursday afternoon in response to calls for him to challenge incumbent RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel.

Some Republicans are calling for fresh leadership after Democrats held on to a majority in the Senate while only narrowly losing control of the House thanks to 11 GOP wins in New York, where Zeldin led the ticket.

Zeldin, 42, has credited his campaign’s hard work and persistence for running as close as he did against Hochul in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by roughly two-to-one.

The incumbent governor also built a record war chest, which Zeldin allies matched by mobilizing outside spending with the help of conservative mega-donors like cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder.

“The key was to run as one team, top down and bottom up. We organized, collaborated, stayed on message, remained disciplined, and put in max effort every single day,” Zeldin wrote.

Lee Zeldin talking
Zeldin lost to Kathy Hochul by a 53% to 47% margin in the recent gubernatorial election.
JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The outgoing lawmaker’s political stock has risen over the past week following his six-point loss to Hochul, who blew numerous advantages while winning a full term as governor by the narrowest margin in decades after facing withering attacks from Zeldin over rising crime.

“We churned out our base and doubled down on Election Day, receiving the most votes of any GOP statewide candidate in New York in 52 years. We raised tens of millions of dollars from all across the country, and deployed thousands of volunteers all across the state,” Zeldin wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Politico.

“By the end of the night on Election Day, my home county of Suffolk cast the most votes in the race for Governor, outpacing every county in the state, including those in New York City,” he added.

Zeldin, who is also facing calls to stand for House Speaker and Suffolk County executive, did not comment Thursday about whether he had officially decided to throw his hat in the ring against McDaniel, who is running for a fourth term.

“It sounds like he’s in,” said one source with deep ties to New York’s business community who is talking up Zeldin.

RNC members will officially choose their chair in January.

If he does challenge McDaniel, Zeldin would be the latest electoral unicorn to pivot towards national party leadership after making runs for higher office that were initially written off by members of their own party.

Ronna McDaniel speaking at a podium
Ronna McDaniel is running for a fourth term leading the RNC.
AP

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean led the Democratic National Committee after his insurgent 2004 presidential run, while Jamie Harrison landed the job after blowing $109 million in a longshot bid to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in 2020.

On the other side of the aisle, former RNC Chair Michael Steele used his 2006 defeat by Democrat Ben Cardin in deep-blue Maryland’s US Senate race as a springboard to the gig in 2009.

The position has given other ambitious Republicans a boost as well, with former RNC Chair Reince Priebus getting hired as White House Chief of Staff after Donald Trump won the 2016 election.

With the GOP divided as the 76-year-old Trump attempts a political comeback, Zeldin hinted Thursday that he thinks he is the guy who can bring its warring factions together in time for the 2024 presidential election.

“It is time nationally for the Republican Party to retool, transform, win back the Presidency in 2024, expand our number of GOP-held seats in Congress, and elect the maximum number of down-ballot candidates across the country,” he tweeted while highlighting reports of an RNC chair run.

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