Joe Gruters, a Trump ally, elected new head of Republican National Committee

ATLANTA — Joe Gruters, a Florida state senator and current treasurer of the Republican National Committee, has been elected to serve as the RNC’s new chairman.

At Friday’s RNC summer meeting in downtown Atlanta, Gruters was unanimously elected by members to replace Michael Whatley, who is running with President Trump’s endorsement for the open U.S. Senate race in North Carolina.

“Today is not about one person,” Gruters said. “It is about our mission. The midterms are ahead where we must expand our majority in the House and Senate and continue electing Republicans nationwide, and then we march more towards the presidential election, where the stakes could not be higher.”

Gruters has served in virtually every type of role in Republican politics for the last two decades, from local volunteer to chair of the Florida Republican Party to now leading the GOP’s national organization at a time where its power is near its zenith.

David Bossie, a Republican National Committeeman from Maryland and longtime Trump ally, said at the summer meeting that Gruters is the best choice to lead the party.

“As chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Joe proved what bold, disciplined leadership can accomplish,” Bossie said. “He expanded our grassroots army, flipped voter registration and delivered an unbroken string of victories up and down the ballot. That is no accident.”

Gruters’ election also highlights the growing influence of Florida Republicans within the national party and administration, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio serving as Secretary of State.

Whatley was asked by Trump to take charge of the RNC in early 2024, replacing Ronna McDaniel and leading the party through a successful 2024 election cycle that saw voters send Trump back to the White House and Republicans flip control of the Senate and hold the House by a razor-thin margin.

In 2025, Trump’s control over the party has only grown stronger as the president has expanded the use of executive action and Congress has ceded much of its power over federal spending and oversight. That sway also extends to the RNC, where Trump endorsed Gruters to be the next leader.

According to the latest campaign finance filings, the RNC has over $84 million cash on hand, which party leaders attribute to Whatley’s leadership and the work of Vice President Vance as the RNC finance chair.

By comparison, the Democratic National Committee has about $15 million on hand as the party searches for its direction after last year’s defeat.

Even with the RNC’s flush coffers, the party faces an uphill battle ahead of the 2026 midterms, where the party in power typically loses seats as voters express displeasure with the administration.

Polls show many parts of Trump’s domestic policy agenda are unpopular with voters, including the administration’s signature policy agenda, “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which extends tax cuts from Trump’s first term and dramatically boosts spending on immigration enforcement while slashing investment in health care and other social safety net programs.