Michigan GOP infighting has escalated as convention looms.
When last we spoke about the Michigan Republican Party, a faction led by election truther and Trump supporter Kristina Karamo was fighting with a second faction, alsoled by Trump supporters, that said it had voted to replace her as state chair with a former congressman named Pete Hoekstra. (Karamo’s critics accuse her of mismanaging the party’s finances and allege that it is on the verge of bankruptcy, while her allies argue that she is being attacked because her grassroots authenticity is threatening to Republican elites. Hoekstra served as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands under Trump.)
The two sides were seemingly faced with a March 2 deadline for figuring out whom the real state chair was, sincea caucus-style convention was set to be held that dayin Detroit for the purpose of selecting delegates to the Republican National Convention. (This year’s GOP convention will be held in Milwaukee in July.)
With March 2 now just days away, the feud has pulled in national Republicans, spread into the courts, and resulted in the concurrent planning of two nominating conventions. One of those conventions may or may not have just been abandoned, but what’s clear is that the underlying conflict has notbeen resolved.
Here’s the backstory:
On Jan. 27, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Hoekstra had his “Complete and Total Endorsement” as chair. This was followed, on Feb. 15, by the Republican National Committee officially recognizing Hoekstra as chair and, on Feb. 20, by the Republican leaders in Michigan’s state House and Senate announcing in a press release that they too support Hoekstra. Hoekstra also announced on Feb. 20 that he would be holding a competing, RNC-recognized state convention in Grand Rapids on March 2 on the same time that Karamo’s group was holding its convention in Detroit.
Karamo responded by calling the RNC “corrupt” and refusing to relinquish control of the state party’s bank accounts or communications. (Her allies say that Trump is being given poor advice about the conflict by “big establishment Republicans.”) On Feb. 1, she and Hoekstra both attended a Republican National Committee meeting in Las Vegas, although neither was allowed to vote, and they do not appear to have interacted.
Hoekstra’s faction filed suit in the state’s Kent County, asking a judge to enjoin Karamo from continuing to act as chair. Last week, the judge heard preliminary testimony in the case, which seeks confirmation from the court system that the vote to remove Karamo was held in accordance with state GOP bylaws. (The anti-Karamo committee faction, when it met to vote her out, says it took advantage of a provision that allowed for the appointment of proxy voters to act in the stead of pro-Karamo members who did not attend the meeting.)
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Read MoreOn Tuesday, the judge in the Kent County case ruled against Karamo, issuing a preliminary injunction that ordered her to hand over control of the party’s communication and finance apparatus. Outside the courthouse, she called the judge’s ruling “ridiculous” but said she would comply. A full trial in the case is expected to be held in June.
AdvertisementUntil the ruling, Karamo had been urging her supporters to attend the previously planned convention in downtown Detroit. (At the event, roughly 3,000 district-level delegates and alternate delegates will vote to select 39 representatives to the national RNC.) After the court ruling, though, she told reporters she wasn’t sure if it would go forward, and on Wednesday her faction sent an email that included the following vague language suggesting that it is resigned to a single, Hoekstra-led convention but not yet ready to concede that it will be in Grand Rapids:
Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementYou may be wondering, understandably, about the push by the Hoekstra crew to go to Grand Rapids. The enticing line that the RNC will recognize only the results from over there and not over here.
We get that, too, but here’s the harsh truth: votes—not voices—may be heard in Hoekstra world, but it will come at a high price … slavish submission to those who seek to rule, not serve. Who will dictate, not listen. And who would sell the culture and the country in exchange for fake glory, fake power, and a lot of money.
That is why we grassroots patriots, including those serving on the State Committee, must ALL descend upon District Convention, again, wherever it may be. The sheer power of our collective voices is only possible if we do this business TOGETHER.
Join us! Join the real Michigan Republican Party. Be there, in the room. Speak up. Boo. Cheer. Yell. LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD!
In any case, Slate plans to be in attendance at the Grand Rapids event, should it occur, and our DMs are open for insider tips!
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