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Michigan Republican lawmakers are gathering for the state convention in Grand Rapids on Saturday, but could convene in Battle Creek, Houghton Lake and even Detroit.
The months-long leadership battle in the Michigan Republican Party has spilled over into the party’s presidential delegate award process, with angry factions insisting on holding district-level meetings instead of attending statewide events. .
There’s little drama about the end result. Former President Donald Trump is likely to win most, if not all, of the 39 delegates at stake at Saturday’s Republican National Convention.
But the turmoil that engulfed the Republican Party this weekend in one of the nation’s most important presidential battleground states raises the prospect of serious problems for the party if it is not resolved ahead of the November general election. This clearly reflects the warnings of department strategists and party leaders.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had a state party? That’s right,” quipped Stu Sandler, a Republican strategist in Michigan.
The controversy centers on the state party’s decision in January to fire former chairwoman Cristina Karamo and replace her with former ambassador and congressman Pete Hoekstra.
Karamo, an unsuccessful Republican nominee for secretary of state who spent years parroting Trump’s falsehoods about election fraud, was elected to the post a year ago as part of a grassroots takeover of the state Republican Party. However, her term was mired in controversy and ended with the party facing financial turmoil and infighting, culminating in her ouster in January.
Hoekstra was endorsed by President Trump and was confirmed by the Republican National Committee as state party chairman. But for weeks, Karamo refused to leave, claiming the vote was taken at an improper meeting of the Michigan Republican State Committee.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge J. Joseph Rossi this week said Karamo was properly terminated on Jan. 6 and ordered him to stop referring to himself as party chairman. She also lost access to the party’s bank accounts and mailbox.
She told reporters outside court that she had no choice but to comply with the judge’s order.
“I’m not going to jail,” she said, according to a video of her comments posted on social media by Michigan news outlets.
The legal battle for control of the Michigan Republican Party also raises questions about how the party will honor 39 of the 55 presidential delegates scheduled to be contested at Saturday’s caucuses.
Karamo had scheduled a tournament in Detroit. However, Hoekstra had an event scheduled for the same day and time in Grand Rapids.
After days of back-and-forth, with participants who had already booked travel plans left in limbo, it appears the Detroit Games have finally been canceled. A Cheboygan County judge Thursday denied Karamo General Counsel Daniel Hartman’s request for an order voiding the Grand Rapids tournament.
By Friday morning, the venue Karamo’s entourage had booked at Huntington Place, a popular convention center in Detroit, had been canceled, a Huntington Place spokeswoman said.
Still, delegations from 24 counties missed the deadline to register for the caucus in Grand Rapids, and as of Friday they would be denied permission to attend.
This prompted Republican leaders in Districts 1 and 4 to organize their own Saturday conventions. The 1st District Republicans in northern Michigan are planning a rally in Houghton Lake, and the 4th District is planning a rally in Battle Creek, 4th District Chairman Ken Beyer said.
In a fiery video posted to Rumble, Mr. Bayer called the state party chairman “Adolf Hoekstra” and called Mr. Karamo’s ouster as party chairman a “political lynching.”
“He wouldn’t let them in because we’re deplorable. We’re the backbone of the Trump movement,” Beyer said, ignoring President Trump’s support for Hoekstra.
“It’s time to turn our backs on them. We don’t need them. We don’t need the state party for anything. They need us,” he said. “We refuse to bow the knee to him. We will not attend his mock conventions. We will hold our district caucuses in the safety of our backyard.”
Meanwhile, Hoekstra said he is seeking to resolve disputes over counties that have missed registration deadlines.
Hoekstra said Friday afternoon on social media platform “There is,” he said. “I want to see a strong, unified party moving forward. That’s my goal, and I hope others agree that that’s what we need to do to win in November.” I hope.”
In a video posted to Mr. Hoekstra was responsible for causing the “scale chaos.”
She asked Michigan’s Republican delegates to follow the advice of their congressional district party chairs on where to go on Saturday.
“This fight is not over,” he said, vowing to continue his legal battle to regain control of the state’s Republican Party.
Saturday’s rally in Grand Rapids, which could lead to other Republican rallies elsewhere, comes five days after Trump defeated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the Michigan primary. Will be held.
The state selects its delegates through a split process, with 16 delegates chosen in the primary and the remaining 39 to be decided on Saturday. Three will be awarded to the winner of each of the state’s 13 congressional districts. On Saturday, Trump was the heavy favorite across the state.
The divisive battle is the result of Republicans’ reaction to the Democratic Party’s decision to change the party’s presidential nominating calendar after the 2020 election, relegating Iowa and New Hampshire and moving South Carolina and Nevada to the forefront. , placing Michigan State at No. 3 with the new lineup.
Republicans opposed holding Michigan’s primary early, violating Republican National Committee rules that limit which states can hold campaigns by March 1. The RNC and Michigan GOP devised a hybrid model after Democrats, who control Congress and the governor’s office, moved Michigan’s primary to Feb. 27 despite Republican opposition.
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