GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A lot has happened in the last year since Kristina Karamo was elected as the Chairperson of the Michigan GOP by more than 2,000 Republican precinct delegates.
Karamo had run for the top spot in the state party after losing the Michigan Secretary of State election to Democratic opponent Jocelyn Benson in 2022 by 14-percentage points.
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Although Karamo didn’t have the support of former president Donald Trump when she ran to be Chair, she won the Chair position against Trump-supported opponent Matt DePerno by a 58% to 42% margin.
Critic says Karamo administration has no idea how to win elections.
At the time of the convention and Karamo’s victory, longtime GOP consultant Dennis Lennox had said, “The people in the asylum have taken control of the institution. Most of the people here don’t want to win elections. They have no idea how to win elections. They’ve never talked to an undecided voter, let alone a Democrat.”
The same, many party officials have said, is true about Karamo. Because of her alleged failings in managing the organizations’ finances, in fundraising for Republican candidates and in many other areas, she was voted out of her position on January 6th by a group of state committee members including co-Chair Malinda Pego.
Since that time, both factions of the party have been in a battle for control with the Pego faction holding a meeting where they voted in former ambassador and congressman Pete Hoekstra as the new Chair on January 20th.
National Republican Party recognizes Pete Hoekstra as Chair, Has Backing of Trump and State Republican Leaders
On February 15th, the Republican National Committee (RNC) said that Hoekstra is the recognized Chair of the party. In addition to that, Hoekstra has the support of former President Trump as well as Michigan Republican leaders State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) and Michigan House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) who said in a press release on the social media platform X recently, “We join President Donald J. Trump in giving our support to Chairman Hoekstra.”
Because Karamo contends that she is the legitimate chair and refuses to give up her seat, Pego and six other party members filed a lawsuit against her on January 19th for breach of contract, seeking a declaration that Karamo was lawfully removed from the MIGOP.
MIGOP case against Karamo is being fought in court.
In court on Tuesday, February 20th, Kent County Circuit Court Judge J. Joseph Rossi rejected Karamo’s attorney’s motion to dismiss the case on technical grounds.
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Then on Wednesday and Thursday, the judge heard arguments concerning the injunction to stop Karamo from acting as Chair, a request filed on behalf of the Pego faction of the party.
Were the bylaws followed?
According to Fox17, court testimony has been focused on looking at the bylaws and whether they were followed at the January 6th meeting when Karamo was voted out of her position.
Judge Rossi said in court this week, “It would be hard to imagine a controversy more complex than this.”
However, many think the issue is not complex at all and that it’s just a matter of whether the bylaws were followed.
“Robert’s Rules of Order” author testifies.
Author Thomas Balch, who contributed to the book “Robert’s Rules of Order,” detailing parliamentary procedure, was questioned in court and he informed the judge that, in his opinion, the meeting on January 6th was conducted in a valid manner, and the removal of Karamo was executed appropriately.
Robert Rules of Order was written to “help provide order and fair play in meetings of deliberative assembles.” The rules govern how most governmental boards and non-profit organizations operate.
Arguments against how Karamo was removed from office.
Donald Campbell, an attorney for Karamo, argued that the bylaw processes on January 6th were not followed correctly with some committee members not up-to-date on their party dues and some members having recanted their position.
He also argued about proxy and quorum issues.
Decision on injunction could come in time for Michigan’s presidential primary.
With a trial date set for June, the Republicans in the state await for a decision on the injunction which the Detroit Free Press reports could come as soon as Tuesday, February 27th – i.e. election day for Michigan’s presidential primary.
In the meantime, they are both claiming to be the Chair of the party and they are both holding district conventions on March 2nd.
Vivek Ramaswamy will attend Hoekstra’s weekend fundraiser.
Hoekstra has also scheduled fundraisers for the party including a dinner on Sunday, February 25th in Novi with former presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur, Vivek Ramaswamy. The young politician has been on the campaign trail as a Trump supporter ever since dropping out of the race. In a townhall on Fox News, Trump told Fox News’ host Laura Ingraham that Ramaswamy is on the short list of his VP choices.
In an interview with WOOD Radio’s Justin Barclay, Hoekstra said about the MIGOP under his leadership, “This is about making sure that we have the infrastructure in place to be successful in November.” He said that the Republicans needed to concentrate and win the senate seat and congressional seats to take back the Michigan House floor and “provide a buffer to the agenda of Gretchen Whitmer.”
Hoekstra declines Karamo’s invite to her Detroit convention to vote for a Chair.
During the same interview, Barclay asked Hoekstra what he thought about Karamo’s invitation to have him go to her convention on March 2nd in Detroit that she is planning and let the precinct delegates vote on who is the rightful Chair.
Hoekstra, who has planned his own district convention on March 2nd in Grand Rapids, told Barclay flat- out “No,” that he’s not interested. He also said that Karamo’s March 2nd gathering is a “meeting” not a legitimate convention.
Hoekstra went on to say, “The RNC, the Michigan Republicans…We operate by a series of rules and bylaws and what Kristina is proposing is nowhere in that. The bottom line is that she was removed for a lack of performance by the state committee. They elected a new chairman. The RNC said that process was totally appropriate and proper.”
Which convention will the delegates attend and whose delegates will be recognized by the national party?
Hoekstra told Barclay it’s his responsibility to “call for a convention of the delegates to vote in a caucus for their preference for the president of the United States to elect delegates to our convention in Milwaukee this summer, both elect the national committeeman and a national committeewoman and we are going to do that March 2 in Grand Rapids.”
Right now, different county Republican parties appear to be planning to go to different conventions. CBS News is reporting that delegates from Iosco County are planning to go to Karamo’s Detroit convention. The Chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party is telling delegates to go to Hoekstra’s Grand Rapids convention because that’s the one that will be recognized by the RNC.
Hoekstra told Barclay that the delegates can make a decision if they want to be in Grand Rapids and “fulfill their responsibilities” or if they want to go to Karamo’s “meeting” in Detroit.
Hoekstra added, “There are NOT two conventions” and said that the RNC will recognize his convention because Karamo is no longer the recognized Chairperson of the MIGOP.
About the Karamo meeting, Hoekstra added, “They’re going to be liable for the expenditures that they make that are unauthorized and illegal through her actions.”
