- MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is running for RNC chair against incumbent Ronna McDaniel.
- The Trump ally announced his bid on Monday morning on his "Frank Speech" streaming platform.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell wants more power within the Republican Party: he's officially running to chair the Republican National Committee.
Lindell announced his run on Monday morning during fellow Trump ally Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast.
"With all my due diligence and in prayer, I am 100% running for RNC chairman against Ronna McDaniel," Lindell said. "It's going to change real fast. We're going to get our country right, really quick."
Lindell said he has spoken to RNC donors and state officials, and obtained their support.
He added that he was looking to move the Republican Party toward backing candidates like Kari Lake and Mark Finchem — Trump-backed individuals who have consistently made baseless claims about the 2020 election.
"The RNC collects money and then they don't do anything with election crime," Lindell told Bannon, once again echoing false claims about widespread voter fraud.
Speaking to Insider after his announcement, Lindell said the first item on his to-do list is calling all 168 members of the RNC to find out what the biggest problem is with the organization.
It is unclear how successful Lindell's bid for the position will be. McDaniel, the current RNC chair, has been endorsed by a majority of the RNC's voting members — 101 in total — who signed on to a letter endorsing her re-election, The Hill reported.
Former President Donald Trump, Lindell's longtime ally, hasn't yet publicly supported his bid against McDaniel. Lindell told Insider that he hasn't spoken to Trump about the matter yet.
A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Lindell and McDaniel are not on the best of terms. Their feud goes back to November 2021, when Lindell accused McDaniel and the RNC of working to prevent him from filing a complaint to the Supreme Court. That complaint contained over 70 pages of unsupported accusations that widespread voter fraud in states including Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
During his November 2021 live stream, Lindell accused the RNC of calling state attorneys general and pressuring them to not sign his complaint. He also slammed McDaniel for publicly admitting that month that President Joe Biden beat Trump. An RNC spokesperson told Insider that Lindell's allegations are completely false in response to a request for comment.
As for McDaniel, she has signaled that she plans to run for another term as RNC chair, per Politico. And the right-wing pillow CEO might not be her only challenger. New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, who lost his gubernatorial race this month, is considering a run too, Politico reported.
If Lindell were to win the RNC election during the committee's winter meeting in January 2023, that would mean control of a major political committee — one that, essentially, shapes the GOP's platform — will be under the control of a fringe MAGA figure.
Representatives for McDaniel did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Lindell's bid.