Detroit Today: What Republicans make of escalating tensions in the Michigan GOP
GOP Chairwoman Kristina Karamo filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Michigan Republican Party last week in Ingham County Circuit Court that has many party leaders at odds.
FILE - Kristina Karamo speaks to Michigan Republican Party delegates Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, in Lansing, Mich.
Last week, GOP Chairwoman Kristina Karamo filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Michigan Republican Party against a trust that control’s the party’s former Lansing headquarters.
As reported by the Detroit News, the lawsuit filed in Ingham County Circuit Court effectively pits Karamo against a group of former party leaders and longtime donors who govern the trust — 11 months before the November 2024 presidential election.
The filing was made after a bank warned the party last month it was in default on a more than $500,000 line of credit, with hopes that the state GOP could regain ownership of the downtown Lansing building in order to sell it to help pay down the debt. Now, state Republican Party leaders in two of Michigan’s largest counties are pushing for Karamo’s removal as chairwoman of the state’s GOP.
So what is at the root cause of all this chaos within the Michigan Republican Party and why are some of its members seeking to oust Karamo? Oakland County Republican Party Chairman Vance Patrick, Michigan GOP state committee member Bree Moeggenberg and Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger joined Detroit Today on Monday to discuss.
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Guests:
Vance Patrick is a chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party. He wants to remove Kristina Karamo as chair of the state party. He says the discord in the Republican Party is so bad, the party chair issued an ill-conceived lawsuit in order to get desperately-needed money.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” said. Patrick.
Bree Moeggenberg is a committeewoman for District 2 of the state Republican Party, which includes Mount Pleasant. She says the party needs to come together to build a coalition between moderates and Trump-supporting Republicans.
“They have to be willing to build a leadership team of every single faction,” said Moeggenberg.
Craig Mauger is a state government and politics reporter for the Detroit News. He says the tension in the Republican Party is between newer and older members, and that newer members want to remove Karamo even though they share similar politics.
“The people that are trying to oust [Kristina Karamo] are actually the people that supported her just a few months ago. And a lot of them are ardent grassroots Republicans just like she was,” said Mauger.
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