Facing a funding crisis and harsh criticism from a faction of far-right conservatives, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is calling on the party to unite behind the goal of defeating President Biden.

McDaniel spoke behind closed doors Friday at the RNC’s winter meeting in Las Vegas, addressing a gathering of state chairmen and other top party members in what is expected to be a critical swing state in the November election.

We Republicans will remain together, as united as the union our party sought to preserve long ago, McDaniel said, quoting Ronald Reagan, according to people in the room who made her comments public on condition of anonymity to ensure a ​decided to discuss meeting. We still have our battles ahead, but they are good battles, and they are worth fighting for.

McDaniel’s call for unity comes as former President Trump and his allies push the party to stand behind him and effectively end the primaries, even as he continues to face one last major rival, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Although McDaniel has previously defeated opponents and won a competitive race for a fourth term as chairman last year, she now faces Trump supporters on the far right pursuing parallel efforts that could come into conflict with the national party.

Campaign finance disclosures released this week show the RNC had just $8 million in the bank and $1 million in debt. While Trump’s campaign enters 2024 with $42 million in cash, Biden’s political operation reported raising $97.1 million through the various committees it uses to raise money, ending the year with $117. 4 million dollars.

Biden already works with the Democratic National Committee, which automatically works with the sitting president. An effort by Trump allies to have the RNC declare Trump the presumptive nominee this week was withdrawn after it drew criticism because Haley is still running.

Trump has previously endorsed McDaniel, although his campaign and the RNC have sometimes disagreed. Trump declined to participate in party-sponsored primary debates ahead of this year’s Iowa caucuses.

But there has long been tension between the party establishment and some people who consider themselves Trump’s strongest supporters.

McDaniel faced a week of scathing attacks from far-right figures led by the group Turning Point, a glitzy and well-funded organization founded by 30-year-old media figure Charlie Kirk, who was part of a failed effort to oust McDaniel last year. year.

Days before the parties’ winter meeting convened, Turning Point hosted a counterprogramming event and grassroots training session at a casino across the street from Las Vegas called Boulevard Restoring National Confidence, a play on the RNC’s initials. The invitation-only event drew nearly 400 attendees who joined the group, including several RNC members, as well as state and local Republican Party chairs.

Kirk, host of a popular radio show, is part of a faction of conservatives who have openly stoked a feud with the RNC, which they have criticized for spending lavishly and out of touch with the party’s base. According to them, this led to losses in 2018 and 2020, but also to disappointing results in 2022.

Some Turning Point supporters have become RNC members, while the group is actively recruiting others, an effort that, if successful, would give the group more influence over the direction of the party and perhaps a stronger voice in the party leadership.

We know a loser group when we see it: from top to bottom, the entire RNC staff as it stands,” Kirk said on his radio show Thursday.

“They don’t even know what winning is,” he added.

At the RNC meeting, some members, including those critical of McDaniel, said Turning Point’s effort was ill-advised.

Attacking the brand and the chairman does not advance our fundamental goal of winning elections, said Mississippi National Committeeman Henry Barbour, who at times criticized McDaniel.

And McDaniel’s allies note that the Democratic National Committee was $5 million in debt in the early days of the 2020 race, as the party tried to return a Democrat to the White House.

Turning Point wants to expand its influence and reach beyond the youth movement, with mixed results. The group has struggled in its home state of Arizona, where many of its preferred candidates failed to win in statewide races that many considered winnable.

The leaders have also come under scrutiny for their own spending practices, including chartering flights, offering lucrative salaries and hosting Kirk’s 2021 wedding reception to commemorate the organization’s nine-year anniversary.

RNC spokesperson Emma Vaughn dismissed the challenges as coming from people complaining online.

Outside noise could be what keyboard warriors and Democrats are focused on, she said. Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and the entire Republican National Committee are focused on defeating Biden this fall.