Dem
51
GOP
49
When fiery, election-denying, Trump supporting Kristina Karamo was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party, right-wingers in the state were ecstatic. Now they are furious and want to give her the boot. The annual gathering on Mackinac Island was a failure. Attendance was way down, top presidential candidates passed on it, some scheduled speakers didn't show up, and it came out that the state party took out a $110,000 loan to get Jim Caviezel, who has an ardent right-wing following, to show up. Oh, and the state party is $620,000 in debt, major donors are fleeing, and the RNC won't give it money to help candidates because it is afraid Karamo will just spend it to pay down the debt. Or maybe to hire some other celebrity speaker. Kid Rock is local. So is Ted Nugent. Of course, neither of them ever played Jesus on screen.
This is no way to start an election year in a key swing state. Forty of the 120 members of the state committee are working to force Karamo out. So are eight of the 13 Republican congressional district chairs. But Karamo is not budging. With all the infighting, no money, and volunteers disappearing, the party is in no condition to help Republican candidates for president, the Senate, the House, or state offices.
The problems have not gone unnoticed. State Rep. Mark Tisdel (R) said: "The Michigan Republican Party is on the verge of imploding; I have more money in my campaign account than the state party has in its. Sooner or later, the creditors are going to come calling." Karamo also tried to pressure small businesses into ponying up $10 to $50 a month to the party. The plan failed miserably. Karamo's response to her critics is to denounce infighting. She also fired dissident party officials, while others resigned. She also dissolved the party's conflict-resolution committee. And she tried to sell the party's former headquarters to raise cash. One catch: The party doesn't actually own it.
What really grated some members was Karamo's scheme of rating members from 1 (solid Republican) to 4 (RINO). A former congressman, Pete Hoekstra, said: "We're supposed to be building a party, not dividing a party into four categories. (V)