Republican National Committee Co-Chair KC Crosbie announced that she will challenge current Chairman Joe Gruters in the party’s January leadership elections, launching a contest over the direction of the GOP following its sweeping losses in the November 3 midterm elections.

In a letter sent to RNC members, Crosbie said the election results represented a “serious setback” for Republicans, pointing to Democrats’ victories in both chambers of Congress and GOP defeats in states and districts Republicans had long expected to hold. She argued that the party must conduct an honest assessment of what went wrong rather than focus exclusively on the campaign infrastructure it built.

KC Crosbie
Credit: KC Crosbie

Crosbie, who previously served as the RNC’s treasurer before becoming co-chair in January 2025, said voters were primarily concerned about the cost of living and the direction of the country. While she credited the committee’s investments in field operations, voter outreach and election-integrity infrastructure, she said those efforts did not address the issues that ultimately shaped voters’ decisions.

“Our improvements in field operations, voter contact, and election-integrity infrastructure were valuable, but they did not answer those concerns or deliver the results we needed,” Crosbie wrote.

She also raised questions about why some voters who supported Republicans in 2024 either stayed home or backed Democrats in the midterms. Crosbie said party leaders must examine whether candidates received adequate support, whether Republicans nominated candidates capable of winning their respective races, and whether the party effectively addressed the concerns of voters.

A central part of her challenge is a call to give the RNC’s 168 members a more influential role in major party decisions. Crosbie argued that state representatives understand the political conditions in their communities and should help determine how the national committee supports state parties, prepares candidates, and communicates with voters.

“I believe the RNC should lead that review with the 168, not conduct it around them,” she wrote.

Crosbie also criticized the current leadership structure for failing to give committee members a meaningful voice in decisions that shape the Republican Party. She pointed to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s coalition-building efforts during the 2024 campaign as an example of how Republicans can expand their support by connecting with voters on issues affecting their daily lives.

“RNC members should have a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape our Party,” Crosbie wrote. “I believe the RNC has fallen short of that responsibility, and I hope to see that change.”

She then formally announced her candidacy for the committee’s top position, writing, “I have therefore decided to run for Chair when the RNC holds its officer elections at the January meeting in Scottsdale.”

Crosbie has been a longtime Republican National Committee representative from Kentucky, first joining the committee in 2012. She previously served as a member of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council and held the RNC treasurer position before becoming co-chair in 2025, succeeding Lara Trump.

Gruters, a Florida Republican and longtime Trump ally, was elected RNC chairman in August 2025 after Michael Whatley stepped down to run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Gruters had served as the committee’s treasurer before taking over as chairman and was endorsed by Trump for the position.

The leadership contest comes at a difficult moment for the Republican Party, with Democrats poised to take control of both the House and Senate following the midterms. Crosbie’s challenge places the committee’s response to those defeats at the center of the upcoming leadership elections, with questions about messaging, candidate recruitment, state-level support and internal decision-making likely to shape the debate.

Crosbie said she hopes to speak with each RNC member before the January meeting, asking them to share what they experienced in their states and what changes they believe are necessary to strengthen the party before the next election.