A group of Michigan Republicans are planning a Saturday meeting to discuss removing the embattled Michigan GOP Chairperson Kristina Karamo from her post, less than a year from when she was elated to the role.
The Michigan Republican Party's state committee are reported to be holding a special meeting on January 6 to discuss an end to the internal fighting that has dogged the GOP in Michigan in recent months.
Karamo, a staunch Donald Trump supporter and 2020 election conspiracy theorist, has been accused of not moving the party forward during this critical time heading into the 2024 elections, as well as failing to improve the reported $500,000 debt the Michigan GOP is in. Karamo has accused the meeting of not being called in accordance with party bylaws, and has indicated she will not recognize the results of any votes.
At least 75 percent of the state committee, which has just over 100 members, would need to back a motion to remove Karamo as chair, although this could be reduced to a two-thirds threshold if such a move was supported in a separate agenda in a two-thirds vote.
It is unclear if the party has enough members to vote on removing Karamo from her position.
Eight of the state party's 13 congressional district chairs, including state GOP co-chair Melinda Pego, are supporting a vote on removing Karamo, and signed a letter urging her removal.
"You were chosen as chairwoman because the majority of the Republican delegates strongly respected your commitment to a new era of transparency, honesty and meaningful involvement on the part of the State Committee," the letter said.
"Regrettably, these policies no longer seem to be a priority in your administration and the Party's financial stability is quickly deteriorating."
Reacting to the potential vote, Karamo told Newsweek: "I find interesting that there are reports of a meeting to remove me, without individuals first verifying with the party is in fact an actual Michigan Republican Party State Committee meeting.
"Our bylaws are very clear about the proper procedures to change party bylaws, call meetings, and remove committee members. These individuals have not followed the MIGOP bylaws to call a meeting, change bylaws, or remove any member, they have zero legal authority to conduct business regarding the Michigan Republican Party or its State Committee."
The infighting in the Michigan GOP arrives amid a crucial period for the party ahead of the House, Senate and presidential elections this November.
The GOP performed poorly in Michigan's Legislature during the November 2022 midterms, with the Democrats taking control of all levels of the state's government for the first time in nearly 40 years.
The Democrats lost their two-seat majority in the November 2023 elections after two Democratic state representatives, Lori Stone and Kevin Coleman, won their mayoral races. The House is currently tied at 54-54.
The GOP will now be hoping to regain control of the Michigan House, as well as the House of Representatives and the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in 2024, as they seek to regain control of the upper chamber. Michigan is also a key swing state in the presidential election, where Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican 2024 nominee, won in 2016, before President Joe Biden flipped the state in 2020.
Bree Moeggenberg, a Michigan GOP state committee member who has helped organize the meeting where discussions to remove Karamo will take place, said the infighting within the party might be putting voters off.
"We are currently in a position where we are pushing Republicans away from the party," Moeggenberg told the Associated Press.
"When the chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party tells those that don't agree with her that they can go pound sand, the party's losing voters."
Michigan Republican Party delegates elected Karamo chairwoman last February after she unsuccessfully ran for secretary of state in 2022.
Update 1/3/24, 10:13 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with full comment from Kristina Karamo.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
