Michigan Republicans are set to meet on Saturday in an attempt to remove their party’s leader following months of GOP lawmakers calling for her resignation due to intraparty dissension and growing debt.
State Republicans began circulating a petition to remove GOP Chairwoman Kristina Karamo in November, just nine months after she was elected by grassroots activists to lead the state party amid historic losses from the 2022 midterm elections. Karamo was tapped for the position after she promised to rebuild the state GOP into a “political machine that strikes fear in the heart of Democrats.”
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But by the end of the year, Michigan Republicans began considering removing her from the position, arguing she hadn’t done enough to advance the party before the 2024 cycle began and citing at least $500,000 in debt, according to the Associated Press.
However, Karamo has maintained she will not recognize a vote for her removal if approved on Saturday, decrying the move as an illegal meeting. Her refusal could set the stage for a legal battle to determine control of the state Republican Party just months before the 2024 election.
The situation unfolds as Michigan Republicans seek big wins in November, with party leaders hoping to flip the Senate seat currently held by the retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and secure a win for the GOP presidential nominee. Michigan is among a handful of swing states expected to play a pivotal role in the presidential election later this year.
Karamo rose to power among the Michigan GOP after the 2020 election by supporting former President Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen election. She then ran a Trump-endorsed campaign for secretary of state in 2022, later losing to Democrat Jocelyn Benson. Karamo has still refused to accept the election result, of which she lost by 14 percentage points.
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Karamo was elected in February 2023 to lead the state party through the 2024 elections but now faces calls from eight of the state party’s 13 congressional district chairs to resign and “put an end to the chaos in our party.”
It’s not yet clear how the meeting on Saturday will unfold, as Republicans will need to submit signatures from at least half of the state party’s 100 committee members to call for a vote. After that, at least 75% of committee members in attendance would need to approve the decision to oust her from the top position.
