The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced Wednesday that former Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra has been named the “duly elected” chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, following more than a month of conflict between the state organization's two factions. approved.
Former Michigan Republican Party Secretary of State candidate Christina Karamo was removed as state party chair by a 45-member committee meeting on January 6, after which she was appointed as her own committee on January 13. A meeting was convened and the attendees voted as follows: retaining her as state party chair; according to Go to M Live. but, member Michigan Republicans voted for Hoekstra, who was appointed ambassador to the Netherlands by then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 20. legalized The RNC made the announcement, according to NBC News. (Related: New Michigan poll finds Democratic and Republican candidates narrowly winning open Senate seat)
““Both the RNC and our party's prospective nominee, Donald Trump, have come forward and recognized me as the duly elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party,” Hoekstra said in a press release Wednesday. “It is time for the former chair, who was properly removed in accordance with MIGOP bylaws, to stop spreading misinformation. Instead of dividing the party, she should join the fight to re-elect Donald Trump.”
At a Jan. 6 metro Detroit rally that Karamo called “illegal,” 88% of voters in attendance voted against Karamo for his lack of fundraising and his handling of local partisan conflicts. voted to dismiss him. according to To the Michigan Bridge. The Michigan Republican Party owes banks and other creditors at least $700,000. default He took out a loan of more than $500,000 in November, according to the Detroit Free Press.
in spite of, finance According to the Associated Press, the Republican Party is hosting the biannual Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, which was also headlined by Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. He reportedly paid actor Jim Caviezel more than $100,000 for the deal.
In response, a week after his ouster, Karamo convened his own meeting of 60 voting members in the north-central city of Houghton Lake, with all but one attending. did. vote According to MLive, this is to keep her as party chair.
Are Warner Norcross and Judd partners involved in an effort to wrongfully remove me as MIGOP chair? pic.twitter.com/qjzb5zt7yW
— Kristina Karamo (@KristinaKaramo) February 12, 2024
A group of 70 Michigan Republicans then met in the state capital, Lansing, on January 20 and voted to elect Hoekstra as the new state party chairman, then filed a lawsuit in Kent County Circuit Court. I woke you up. The Detroit News reports that the Grand Rapids group is asking a court to rule that Karamo is no longer the party's legitimate leader.
“Mr. Karamo's refusal to advance the Commission and the Michigan Republican Party warrants prompt judicial intervention, especially as the election cycle rapidly approaches,” the lawsuit states. stateaccording to the Associated Press.
The RNC has limited authority to intervene in Michigan's Republican Party leadership race, but an RNC lawyer said in January that Karamo “appears to have been properly removed” as chair. according to To the Michigan Bridge.
The RNC established an “ad hoc committee” to consider evidence from lawyers for each side of the conflict. The committee was tasked with making recommendations to all of the RNC agencies to decide who to nominate. recognize Bridge, Michigan reporter Jonathan Oosting says he has become state chairman.
Trump backed Karamo, the former ambassador to the Netherlands, who agreed with some of Trump's theories that cast doubt on the 2020 outcome. election And it was approved She was nominated by him during her unsuccessful bid to become Michigan's secretary of state in the 2022 midterm elections, according to the Associated Press.
“I look forward to working with Ambassador Pete Hoekstra as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. He is a great congressman from Michigan and a winner who did a great job as ambassador to the Netherlands,” Trump said. I have written on his Truth Social page on January 26th.
Political analysts see Michigan as a critical state for Trump to win if he is elected to a second term.The state played a crucial role in Trump's election. win She surpassed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Trump won by just over 10,000 votes, winning the state's 16 electoral votes and becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win the Great Lakes state. Since then Former President George H.W. Bush won in 1988. President Trump lost Michigan to President Joe Biden by more than 150,000 votes. vote When he lost re-election in 2020.
“Since I was elected Speaker, we have worked hard to develop a plan to elect Republicans across Michigan. Ready to run. We must keep our ears to the grindstone in the coming months and focus on party unity to ensure a Red Wave victory in November,” Hoekstra said in a statement.
Hoekstra and Karamo did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
