RNC chair on GOP's mission going forward: 'Make sure...Trump voters become Republican voters'

EXCLUSIVE - Republican National Committee (RNC) seat Mike Whatley says his occupation going guardant successful the 2025 elections and 2026 midterms is consecutive forward.

"It's truly captious for america to marque definite that the Trump voters go Republican voters," Whatley said successful an exclusive nationalist integer interrogation with Fox News connected the sidelines of the RNCs' wintertime meeting, which is being held successful the nation's capital.

Republicans enjoyed large victories November's elections, with President-elect Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to triumph backmost the White House, the GOP flipping power of the Senate from the Democrats, and holding connected to their razor-thin bulk successful the House.

Whatley, who was interviewed connected Thursday connected the eve of the ceremonial ballot by the RNC for the seat to proceed successful his presumption steering the nationalist enactment committee, said the GOP needs "to cement those gains" made successful the 2024 elections.

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"We're going to spell close backmost to the gathering blocks that we had during this predetermination cycle, which is to get retired the ballot and support the ballot," Whatley emphasized. 

The RNC seat pointed to "the lessons that we learned" successful the 2024 cycle "about going aft debased propensity voters, astir making definite that we're reaching retired to each elector and bringing successful caller communities," which helium said helped Republicans marque "historic gains among African American voters, among Asian American voters, among Hispanic voters, young voters and women voters."

Speaking a mates of days earlier the president-elect's inauguration, Whatley emphasized that erstwhile Trump's successful the White House, "we're going to spell close backmost to the RNC. We're going to rotation up our sleeves and get to work. We've got a mates of governor's races…that we're going to beryllium moving connected successful ‘25."

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But Whatley said "everything is focused connected ‘26," erstwhile the enactment volition beryllium defending its majorities successful the House and Senate, "because that is going to determine, from an docket perspective, whether we person 2 years to enactment with oregon four. And America needs america to person a four-year agenda."

"What we're going to beryllium doing is making definite that we are registering voters," Whatley said. "We're going to be…communicating with the folks that we request to crook out."

Pointing to the 2024 statesmanlike election, helium said "it's the aforesaid fundamentals."

But helium noted that "it's not conscionable 7 battleground states" and that the 2026 contests are "definitely going to beryllium a precise aggravated midterm predetermination cycle."

While Democrats would disagree, Whatley described today's GOP arsenic "a communal consciousness party…this is simply a enactment that's going to combat for each American household and for each American community."

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Referring to erstwhile Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and erstwhile Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to service successful his 2nd administration's cabinet, Whatley touted "the information that we person 2 erstwhile Democratic statesmanlike candidates who are going to beryllium serving successful the president's cabinet. That shows you that this is simply a commonsense agenda, a commonsense team, that we're going to beryllium moving guardant with."

Last March, arsenic Trump clinched the 2024 GOP statesmanlike nomination, helium named Whatley to win Ronna McDaniel arsenic RNC chair. Whatley, a longtime Trump state and a large protagonist of Trump's predetermination integrity efforts, had served arsenic RNC wide counsel and seat of the North Carolina Republican Party. 

In December, Trump asked Whatley to proceed during the 2026 rhythm arsenic RNC chair.

"I deliberation we volition beryllium capable to speech erstwhile we request to talk," Whatley said erstwhile asked if his lines of connection with Trump volition beryllium constricted present that the president-elect is returning to the White House. "We're going to enactment the president and his agenda. That does not change. What changes is his quality from the White House to really instrumentality the docket that he's been campaigning on."

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Trump is term-limited and won't beryllium capable to question predetermination again successful 2028. Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance volition apt beryllium considered the front-runner for the 2028 GOP nomination.

Whatley reiterated what helium told Fox News Digital successful December, that the RNC volition enactment neutral successful the adjacent contention for the GOP information and that the party's "got an astonishing bench."

"You deliberation astir the endowment connected the Republican broadside of the aisle close now, our governors, our senators, our members of Congress, radical that are going to beryllium serving successful this administration. I emotion the information that the Republican Party is going to beryllium acceptable up to person a fantastic campaigner going into '28," helium highlighted.

Unlike the DNC, which successful the 2024 rhythm upended the accepted presidential nominating calendar, the RNC made nary large changes to their superior lineup, and kept the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire superior arsenic their archetypal 2 contests.

Asked astir the 2028 calendar, Whatley reiterated to Fox News that "I person not had immoderate conversations with anybody who wants to alteration the calendar, truthful we volition hold and spot what that looks similar arsenic we're going forward. We're astatine the RNC meetings this week and having a fig of conversations with folks, but that is not a immense push."

"I don't deliberation that changing the calendar truly helped the Democrats astatine all," Whatley argued. "And I deliberation that us, making definite that we are moving our strategy the mode that we ever have, is going to beryllium critical."