Source: Politics<\/p>\n
As Harmeet Dhillon seeks the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, opponents have begun raising concerns about her Sikh faith \u2014 a development that has left some members of the committee unsettled.<\/p>\n
Two supporters of Dhillon, who is challenging incumbent RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, told POLITICO that McDaniel allies have brought up Dhillon’s religious affiliation with them in recent weeks. One of the two said that a fellow RNC committee member, who is openly supporting McDaniel in the race, brought up concerns about Dhillon\u2019s \u201cSikh faith\u201d during a recent phone conversation. That person was granted anonymity to discuss the matter.<\/p>\n
The topic has become so buzzed about that Dhillon herself has been forced to address it publicly, this week retweeting RNC members who condemned<\/a> those drawing negative attention to her religious affiliation<\/a>.<\/p>\n McDaniel on Wednesday said she \u201cwholeheartedly condemn[s] religious bigotry in any form.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are the party of faith, family and freedom, and these attacks have no place in our party or our politics,\u201d McDaniel said in a statement to POLITICO. \u201cAs a member of a minority faith myself, I would never condone such attacks. I have vowed to run a positive campaign and will continue to do so.”<\/p>\n McDaniel is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As RNC chair, McDaniel has touted coalition-building with a number of minority groups, both ethnic and religious.<\/p>\n The focus on Dhillon\u2019s faith hasn\u2019t just come from people supporting McDaniel. In an email sent to an RNC member on Sunday, a purported supporter of \u201cMyPillow\u201d CEO Mike Lindell, who is also running for committee chair, brought up Dhillon\u2019s religion as an issue. The copy of the email, which was provided to POLITICO with the sender\u2019s name redacted, urged the recipient to support Lindell, an \u201cardent Christian conservative.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is an Indian Sikh by birth and heritage, Not of Judeo-Christian worldview,\u201d the emailer wrote of Dhillon. \u201cNone of these core character positions aligns with the Republican Party Platform, planks, or conservatism in general.\u201d<\/p>\n Reached for comment, Lindell told POLITICO to \u201cshove it.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to POLITICO, Dhillon called it \u201churtful to learn that a handful of RNC members, in a close race for RNC chair, have chosen to question my fitness to run the RNC by using my devout Sikh faith as a weapon against me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[T]his bigotry plays no part in the decisions of most RNC members, and it will not deter me from doing what is right for our country, and for our party that we love and have pledged to serve,\u201d Dhillon added.<\/p>\n The whisper campaign adds another layer of tension to an increasingly acrimonious RNC race between McDaniel, Trump\u2019s handpicked chair in 2017, and Dhillon, whose firm represents the former president in lawsuits related to the 2020 election. McDaniel is vying for a fourth term in the post and is fending off accusations that the party has stumbled under her stewardship. Though she remains favored to win, she has witnessed notable defections among Republicans from southern states.<\/p>\n In Arkansas last weekend, the state\u2019s executive committee passed a resolution in support of Dhillon\u2019s candidacy, said two people familiar with the vote, but state party officials have so far delayed publicly releasing the document or details surrounding the vote. The Louisiana GOP\u2019s central committee passed a resolution on Saturday urging its three voting members to \u201cpay head to the \u2018grassroots\u2019 profound and extreme dissatisfaction with the RNC and Chairwoman McDaniel\u201d and vote to replace her.<\/p>\n An upcoming no-confidence vote is also scheduled in Florida, following similar anti-McDaniel votes in Arizona<\/a> and Texas<\/a>. And members of Tennessee\u2019s GOP executive committee last month took a voice vote to overwhelmingly express opposition to McDaniel\u2019s continued leadership, according to a state party official.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Alabama Republican Party leadership voted to release a statement saying they \u201ccannot support or endorse Ronna McDaniel for RNC Chair.\u201d The no-confidence vote, while not unanimous, succeeded despite recent buzz in conservative political circles there about Dhillon\u2019s Sikh faith.<\/p>\n Chris Horn, a GOP commentator in the state and chair of Alabama\u2019s Tennessee Valley Republican Club, is not on the steering committee but has openly supported McDaniel\u2019s reelection. While acknowledging that Dhillon has the right to practice her faith, he defended Republicans who are seeking information about Dhillon\u2019s religious beliefs. He said he is concerned Dhillon would cut existing RNC programs targeting Protestant, Catholic and Jewish voters \u2014 something Dhillon has not proposed doing.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople aren\u2019t bigots because they ask questions,\u201d Horn said. \u201cThat\u2019s a legit question: Is the Republican Party, or even the Democratic Party ready for someone of the Sikh faith?<\/p>\n \u201cIf someone from another faith wants to be the leader of our party, then you\u2019re going to be the leader of tens of millions of Christians. And there\u2019s not been any conversation about that at all,\u201d Horn added. \u201cThat\u2019s just the fact of the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n An RNC member from the Midwest supporting Dhillon, who was granted anonymity in order to minimize growing tensions within the committee, said during a phone conversation last week that another member who is involved in RNC faith outreach efforts reported being \u201cconcerned about the future of some of the faith engagement in the RNC because of Harmeet\u2019s Sikh faith.\u201d<\/p>\n The Midwest member, who found the remark \u201cincredibly disturbing,\u201d said the phone call was originally unrelated to the chairman\u2019s race and was not part of a vote-whipping effort, but that the other member eventually brought up Dhillon\u2019s faith unprompted. <\/p>\n