With less than a year to the all-important elections in November, the Republican Party in a key swing state seems to be in disarray.
On Saturday, some Republicans in the state plan to get together to discuss whether Kristina Karamo, the chairperson of the Michigan GOP, should be removed from her position – even though she’s been on the job for less than a year.
The state committee of the Michigan Republican Party will hold a special meeting January 6, according to Newsweek. At that meeting, they will discuss how to end all the internal fighting that’s been going on in the state GOP.
Karamo has been a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and has backed his 2020 election fraud theories. In recent months, she’s been accused of not doing enough to move the GOP forward.
This is really a critical time in Michigan, which is positioned as one of the key swing states heading into the 2024 presidential election.
Karamo has also been accused of not helping the party improve on the $500,000 in debt that it’s reportedly in.
In response, Karamo has said that the planned meeting wasn’t called in accordance with the bylaws of Michigan’s GOP. As a result, she said she won’t recognize the outcome of any vote taken at the meeting.
To oust Karamo as the party’s chair, 75% of the state GOP would need to vote for that to happen. There are a little more than 100 members of the Michigan GOP.
Newsweek reports that it’s not clear whether the party would have enough votes to reach that threshold to remove Karamo.
That being said, the media outlet said that eight of the 13 chairs of congressional districts in the state GOP have said they would support taking a vote to remove Karamo. That includes Melinda Pego, who serves as the co-chair of the party.
Those eight district chairs signed a letter recently that urged Karamo to be removed. That letter reads:
“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 improvement on the part of the State Committee. Regrettably, these policies no longer seem to be a priority in your administration and the Party’s financial stability is quickly deteriorating.”
Karamo fired back at that letter and the effort to remove her as chair. She recently spoke to Newsweek and said:
“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.”
