Michigan GOP chair Karamo was ‘properly removed’ from position, national Republican party says
LANSING, MI — Kristina Karamo, a failed candidate for secretary of state who was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party last February, was “properly removed” from her position by party members earlier this month, according to an initial investigation by the Republican National Committee.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) said their decision is not final and could change depending on additional information. It came in a letter sent Wednesday by RNC lawyers to both Karamo and former Congressman Pete Hoekstra, who was chosen as the new chairman by a group of Michigan GOP members.
“Based on initial review, it appears that Ms. Karamo was properly removed in accordance with the MI GOP bylaws,” said the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
Although RNC members are expected to meet after a Jan. 30 winter meeting to make further recommendations, the dispute over the position of the GOP chairman in Michigan will likely play out in court in the coming months.
The latest development in a months-long dispute over the state party’s leadership comes about a month before the state holds its presidential primaries and in a year when Michigan Republicans are desperately trying to regain some power after historic losses in 2022.
Republicans hope to win an open U.S. Senate seat next year, in addition to several competitive House races. Control of the Michigan House, currently tied at 54-54 after two seats vacated by Democrats, will also be up for grabs this year.
Earlier this month, nearly half of the Michigan GOP’s voting members rallied to vote out Karamo as chairman, citing fundraising problems and months of infighting. Eight of the state party’s 13 district chairmen had called on Karamo to resign and her own co-chair, Malinda Pego, helped lead the effort to oust her.
The group then voted to elect Hoekstra as the party’s new chairman. Hoekstra was a US representative from 1993 to 2011 and served as US ambassador to the Netherlands under former President Donald Trump.
Karamo, an election conspirator who refused to accept the results of her 14 percentage point loss in the 2022 Secretary of State election, has claimed that the January 6 vote to oust her as Speaker was “illegitimate” and “illegal” used to be. Last week she sent defamation letters to Hoekstra and other opponents in which she claimed defamation of character and trademark infringement.
The RNC had assessed the legitimacy of the vote to oust Karamo ahead of an RNC winter meeting in Las Vegas on January 30. Voting members, including state party chairmen, are invited to the meeting.
Although both Karamo and Hoekstra will be invited as guests to the winter meeting, neither will be recognized as chairman of the Michigan GOP, according to the letter from RNC general counsel Michael Whatley and chief counsel Matthew Raymer.
After the meeting, RNC members will “work expeditiously” to review the dispute and make a recommendation, the letter said.
Karamo’s general counsel, Dan Hartman, responded to the RNC’s letter in a statement Thursday, calling their opinion “irrelevant.”
“Lawyers who sign a letter are not communicating anything other than their opinion. Therefore, even if the letter is authentic, it doesn’t matter to me,” Hartman said in the statement, adding that they will continue with “business as usual.”
Hoekstra said in a statement that he was “pleased” to see the RNC’s letter and that his focus now is on “ensuring that we continue to build an operation that will deliver the state of Michigan for Donald Trump.” ”
Trump won Michigan in 2016 before President Joe Biden won it now in the 2020 race.
Michigan’s Republican Party presidential primary on Feb. 27 will award 16 of the state’s 55 delegates. The remaining 39 delegates will be allocated at a March 2 congress organized by the state party.