Separate factions are wrestling for control of the Michigan Republican Party amid an ongoing crisis.
Former state party chair Kristina Karamo refused to accept a vote in January that removed her from her position as chair. As a result, different factions have been unable to agree on who is the legitimate leader of the state party.
Now, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has recognized former Representative Pete Hoekstra as the Michigan party (MIGOP) head, saying the grounds on which Karamo had refused were illegitimate.
The decision on February 14 was made unanimously by the RNC’s executive committee.
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Karamo—the state chair since February last year—has shown unwillingness to comply with this as well and still appears to have control over the party’s social media.
In a video posted to X on the evening of February 14, Karamo said she still believes she is the chair because her removal was out of line with party guidelines.
A report issued by the RNC said they believed the meeting was properly held and sufficient to remove her.
Again in the February 14 X post, Karamo linked the opposition against her to an ongoing controversy regarding the battery maker Gotion, an American-based subsidiary of a Chinese-owned company, raising concern over the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Michigan among some, including Karamo and Republican lawmakers.
Karamo, opposed to the building of the plant, said in the X video that the people trying to build the plant were the same who wanted her out of her position as party chair. “You connect the dots,” Karamo said.
Newsweek has approached Gotion for comment.
Gotion has been represented by the law firm of Warner Norcross + Judd LLP. A partner at the firm, Jonathan Lauderbach, is one of the attorneys representing plaintiffs in a case in Kent County asking a judge to officially declare that Karamo has been removed as state party chair.
Such a ruling would allow Hoekstra, who has been enforced by Donald Trump, to move forward in directing MIGOP.
Lauderbach told Newsweek: “We don’t publicly talk about our clients. This video is obviously a desperate attempt by Ms. Karamo to stay in power when Republicans in the state have spoken and want new leadership.”
Newsweek has approached Karamo for comment via an email to MIGOP.
Karamo, a Donald Trump-supporting election denier, was originally removed in a January 6 vote that saw 40 members of the party’s state committee backing a motion to oust her. The motion was brought forward over concerns over Karamo not improving the state party’s debt position.
It was this vote that Karamo said was not legitimate.
A total of 60 members of a Karamo-aligned state committee voted to keep her in the role of chair on January 13.
Hoekstra, meanwhile, said Karamo was “properly removed in accordance with the MIGOP bylaws,” and has called on her to leave in order for the party to come together and focus on electing former President Donald Trump, the party’s most likely presidential nominee according to the polls.
Newsweek was unable to find contact information for Hoekstra.
“It is time for the former Chair who was properly removed in accordance with the MIGOP bylaws to end her misinformation campaign,” Hoekstra said in a statement reported by Politico. “She should join the fight to re-elect Donald Trump rather than dividing this Party.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.