- A 2020 election denier was chosen to lead Michigan Republicans headed into the 2024 elections.
- Kristina Karamo, who lost a race for secretary of state last year, defeated Matt DePerno 58%-42%.
The November 2022 midterms were not kind to Michigan Republicans.
Not only was Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reelected in a landslide over Republican Tudor Dixon, but state Attorney General Dana Nessel soundly defeated GOP opponent Matt DePerno and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson easily dispatched Republican Kristina Karamo.
Democrats also reclaimed control of both houses of the state legislature, with the state senate in Democratic hands for the first time since 1984.
But Karamo, who repeatedly questioned the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, won the race to lead the Michigan Republican Party on Saturday.
Karamo defeated DePerno at a party convention after three ballots 58%-42%, according to the Detroit Free Press, replacing outgoing chair Ron Weiser, a prominent real estate developer.
Weiser gave the party over $3.2 million in personal contributions for the 2022 election cycle, Bridge Michigan reported. But the outlet also reported that the state GOP had over $2.3 million in outstanding debts in its main state campaign account.
According to the Free Press, Karamo gave a quick address to Republicans after her victory, but because the party had only paid to use the convention space through the late afternoon and had to extend their use of the facility until 8 p.m., attendees had to leave soon after the final ballot.
"We will not betray you; we will not lie to you," Karamo told Republicans during her address, according to the Free Press.
Karamo, who former President Donald Trump backed in her campaign last year, sought to funnel GOP outrage over the 2020 election into a statewide victory, but she fell far short of that goal; Karamo lost to Benson by 14 points.
Trump had backed DePerno
And Trump, who continues to wield enormous influence among grassroots activists as he ramps up campaigning for his third presidential bid, last month threw his support behind DePerno.
"Republicans in Michigan must unite and work together if they want to save Michigan," the former president said in a statement at the time. "We must start by supporting Matt DePerno for chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. He is the only candidate running who can get the job done!"
Both DePerno and Karamo sought to more closely tie grassroots conservatives to its GOP donor base and were sharply critical of the party's state leadership, pointing to a lack of party support for its losses last fall.
On Monday, Trump rallied for DePerno virtually and stressed the importance of Michigan, a swing state that in 2016 narrowly supported him over Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before now-President Joe Biden flipped it back to the Democrats in 2020.
"Michigan will be a key battleground center for the action," Trump said of the presidential election next year. "Victory in Michigan will be the difference in winning the election or not."
Key to Biden's victory in Michigan was his strength not only in cities like Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, and Grand Rapids, but the margins that he amassed in suburban communities in Southeast Michigan.
February 19, 2023: This story has been updated with the news of Karamo's win.