Michigan Republican Party leader stokes fears party will blow more winnable races
Michigan Republicans were swept out of power at all levels for the first time since nearly forty years. They are now struggling to find their feet after the midterm elections.
Kristina Karamo is the controversial chairwoman of their state party.
Some Michigan Republicans are concerned that Karamo’s extreme views on everything, from election fraud to human evolutionary process, will lead to the party retreating further into political wilderness.
Dennis Lennox, a Michigan GOP activist and longtime critic, stated that the titular head of the Republican Party is someone who lost an election in Michigan by more than 600,000 votes. She denies she lost that election.
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“Unlike Stacey Abrams who at least can grift,” Lennox said. Lennox was referring to Kristina Karamo, a Georgia Democrat who refused concede defeat in her first of two gubernatorial elections she lost.
Karamo was elected Michigan secretary of state for 2022. He lost by 14 points.
Her margin of defeat was greater than GOP losses in both the governor’s and attorney general’s races.
Karamo maintains that she was cheated by election fraud.
Karamo stated last month that consenting to fraud is like agreeing with the fraudster, when she was elected Michigan Republican Party chair.
Karamo was again under scrutiny after she made a comparison between gun control measures and the Holocaust in a post on social media.
She didn’t apologize but she reaffirmed her sentiment amid public backlash.
During her month as the head of the state party, she made some bizarre comments including the assertion that the “encroachment by the World Economic Forum” is one the greatest threats to Michigan.
“To her credit she’s one the few Republicans in this country who has slayed Trump-endorsed candidate to intraparty leadership posts,” Lennox stated. Lennox was referring to her victory against Matt DePerno in the 2022 election for attorney general, who received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in the Michigan GOP chair race. “But, the simple truth is that she doesn’t know how to win an election as a dogcatcher, let alone how to win an open seat in the United States Senate in 2024, or carry Michigan for the Republican presidential nominee.”
David Trott, a former Republican congressman from Michigan suggested that the state Republican leadership doesn’t deserve donations given its current state.
Trott said that he didn’t think he would give them control of a Popsicle stand. Trott was referring to state party leaders.
These institutional problems could threaten a crucial battleground state for Republicans in 2024. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), will retire leaving an open Senate seat. Both parties will then target the state in their presidential race.
In 2022, Michigan Republicans had already seen a decline in fundraising. Trump-supporting candidates did not win the support of donors.
Paul Cordes, the chief of staff for the state party, wrote in a memo regarding the November election results that “in what many of them considered to be sending a message towards Donald Trump and his followers, longtime donors to Party remained onthe sidelines despite constant warnings about the possibility of the outcome seen come to fruition on Election Day, a statewide sweep, and one-party Democratic Rule in Lansing. Something that hasn’t been seen in nearly forty years in Michigan.”
Michigan GOP’s inability to raise funds has caused it to close its Lansing headquarters. The organization couldn’t afford utilities or taxes, despite having to pay $1 annually to the trust that holds it.
The largest political donors in the state aren’t interested in supporting the Michigan GOP Under Karamo.
According to reports, the wealthy and powerful DeVos family of Michigan, whose members include Besty DeVos (ex-Education Secretary) has stopped giving to the party during the troubled times.
The Michigan Republican Party didn’t respond to our request for comment.
