Michigan Republican Party Goes To War With Itself Over Election-Denying Trump Ally, Chairwomen Kristina Karamo

Michigan Republican Party is officially at war with itself.

State Chairwoman Kristina Karamo, an ally of former President Donald Trump and fierce election denier, is the focus of the controversy leading the party to split into two competing groups.

On January 6, a group of renegade state Republicans voted to replace the controversial Karamo. The decision to remove Karamo as chair occurred in a closed-door meeting on January 6 and in Oakland County, Michigan.

“We have made history today,” Bree Moeggenberg, a Michigan GOP state committee member said in a statement. “With over 88% of the members that were present and voting, we have taken the first step to engage and protect the various voices and liberties of all Republicans … we have voted to remove Kristina Karamo as the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party.”

Karamo responded, “Their performance has no legal standing, I am still chair of the Michigan Republican Party.”

On January 13, Karamo’s administration announced that state committee members voted to keep her with a vote of 59-1.

Her administration said that the members voted to oust some of her most formidable critics from the party’s state committee and ban them for five years.

The party’s finances have deteriorated under Karamo – it had a net income of just $71,000 over nine months, ending with $600,000 in debt.

Six weeks before Michigan’s presidential primary, the vote failed to end the civil war within the party.

The two groups now have competing Michigan GOP websites.

Karamo’s opponents plan to take the fight to court this week.

The fight over leadership comes after Karamo’s rough first 11 months as chairwoman. Her tenure has been marked by weak fundraising, party disputes and physical arguments among members of rival parties.

The Republican National Party has not picked a side yet. Despite this, a spokesperson on January 8 said the national party would be reviewing documentation from last weekend’s removal vote. 

With the most recent vote on January 13, Karamo is now requesting support from most of the 107 members of the Michigan GOP state committee. The committee consists of party insiders elected by the same Republican precinct delegates who chose Karamo to lead the state party back in February 2023.

“The matter has been settled,” Karamo said in a video statement given to GOP precinct delegates. “I’m so looking forward to us winning in 2024.”

Michigan will be a key swing state in November, so the stakes could not be higher for the state and national party.