A self-styled outsider conservative is preparing to challenge Reince Priebus for the leadership of the Republican National Committee if Donald Trump loses next week's election.

Priebus has worked hard to lock down enough support to handily win if he chooses to run for reelection, but he’s not going to go unchallenged.


Ned Ryun, a career GOP operative who is the son of former five-term Republican Congressman Jim Ryun, intends to run for head of the RNC if Trump loses and Priebus seeks reelection, two sources familiar with Ned Ryun’s planning tell POLITICO.

They said that allies of Ryun, who is associated with the party’s conservative anti-establishment flank, have begun quietly soliciting support for a potential bid from donors and members of the RNC’s 168-member national committee.

The pitch, which is predicated on a Trump loss, includes casting Ryun as an outsider candidate who is willing to challenge a chairman who is quite popular among party loyalists, but who would be the first RNC chairman to preside over — and lose — two presidential elections.

Reached by phone on Tuesday, Ryun confirmed that he is planning to run if Trump loses and Priebus seeks reelection to what would be an unprecedented fourth term as chairman.

“The priority between now and Tuesday is making sure that Hillary Clinton doesn’t win the White House and that Democrats don’t win the Senate. But after the election, if Trump loses and Priebus runs, I will absolutely run for chairman,” said Ryun, who owns a political data and technology firm called Voter Gravity and runs a nonprofit outfit called American Majority that has at times been a thorn in the side of the GOP establishment.

American Majority, which has trained conservative activists to run for office, has received support from foundations associated with top conservative donors including fracking billionaire Farris Wilks of Texas, and the manufacturing mogul Uihlein family, according to an analysis of tax filings. The group also has an advocacy arm, American Majority Action, which has spent millions mobilizing voters in support of conservative Republican congressional candidates, as well as the party’s 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Ryun said, “With my background in grass roots, in data and technology, and not being an unknown quantity among mega-donors, I think I have a lot to offer for the future direction of the RNC and the GOP.”

While he wouldn’t comment on Priebus’ leadership or his support within the national committee, Ryun argued that to offset demographic and electoral trends that favor Democrats, Republicans need to invest more in nuts-and-bolts politics including voter registration, data, get-out-the-vote training and coalition building.

Nonetheless, Ryun conceded that he would face long odds if he were to run.

“I am fully aware that the RNC chairman’s race is an insider's game. But I would hope that the committee members would be willing to listen to an outsider’s appeal and vision,” Ryun said, declining to answer whether he would run if Priebus did not seek reelection.

Priebus declined to comment on the possible challenge.

Nonetheless, the incumbent chairman would have a huge advantage against any challenger, particularly one from outside the ranks of the clubby national party committee. In recent history, the RNC hasn’t even formally considered candidates who haven’t served on the party committee.

“Unless somebody is a presidential candidate or president-elect’s nominee, the likelihood of electing a nonmember or someone who has never served as a member is de minimis,” said Saul Anuzis, a former RNC member from Michigan who ran for the chairmanship in 2012. “Ned is not a known person amongst the electorate, which is 168 members, nor does he have much relationship with most of those members, I suspect.”

More than 60 members have confirmed to POLITICO since July’s Republican National Convention that they would support Priebus for another term if he decides to run again, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.

And most of the people whose names have been bandied about as prospective candidates are expected to stand down if Priebus throws his hat into the ring for another term. Those whose names have surfaced include former Oklahoma GOP Chairman Matt Pinnell, Arizona GOP Chairman Robert Graham and Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges. Former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, another RNC outsider, also has hinted at a bid, though she’s been quiet since Priebus indicated over the summer that he may run again.

Ryun could even have trouble clearing the initial hurdle under the RNC’s rules, which require majority support from three state delegations to get nominated for chairman.

An operative familiar with Ryun’s efforts said he has set up conversations with more than a dozen members of the committee for next week, and will proceed with those plans if Trump loses. And the operative said that "if Trump loses, people might start to circle the wagons around Reince initially, but I think they are going to start to have questions about the direction of the party the further we get away from the election.”

Several RNC members, who requested anonymity to discuss the chairmanship race, said they hadn’t heard of Ryun and had to Google his name.

“I don’t know who that is, but that’s OK,” said one of the members. “I’m sure you’re going to hear a lot of names.” Another noted that Ryun was among a slew of conservative activists who warned of a party establishment plot to deprive Trump the presidential nomination — a posture that could make it harder for him to win support of RNC members.

A more basic hurdle is the fact that Priebus has gotten high marks from his colleagues for focusing precisely on what Ryun says he’ll make part of his bid: building up the party infrastructure, ground-game and data operations. Though Trump’s nomination and campaign has roiled Republicans, RNC members have largely rallied behind Priebus, citing gains in these areas.