Ronna McDaniel, born Ronna Romney, is a member of the prominent Romney political family. She is the third of five children born to Ronna Stern Romney and Scott Romney, the older brother of former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. McDaniel is a granddaughter of three-term Michigan Governor George W. Romney, whose wife Lenore ran for U.S. Senate in 1970, and her mother ran for Senate in 1996 against Carl Levin, also serving on the RNC and as a delegate to the 1988 convention. Her family's deep involvement in Republican politics inspired her career. McDaniel attended Lahser High School in Bloomfield, Michigan, and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Brigham Young University. She began her career in media and production companies before entering politics, serving as chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017. Elected as RNC chair in 2017, she was the first woman to lead the organization in that role without prior service as co-chair, overseeing operations through multiple election cycles until her resignation in March 2024 amid internal party tensions following the 2024 Republican primaries. Post-RNC, McDaniel has been associated with the Michigan Forward Network as CEO, based in Northville, Michigan. She faced significant controversy in 2024 when hired and quickly dismissed by NBC News as a paid contributor due to backlash over her defense of Trump's 2020 election fraud claims.