The infighting in the MIGOP has come to a head with members voting to remove Karamo, and now, no one is stepping down
LANSING — In case you missed it, this weekend, members of the MIGOP voted overwhelmingly to remove embattled Chair Kristina Karamo from her position as the head of the extremist Michigan Republican Party after months of discontent, physical infighting, and bankruptcy. Now, there are apparently two Michigan Republican Parties? That’s right… Karamo and her (former) co-chair, Malinda Pego, are both declaring themselves the rightful chair of the MIGOP.
Karamo has made it clear that she won’t recognize the vote, and Pego is going forward as if she is now the chair of the party, even creating separate websites for the two factions. We’ve been saying it all along, but this “incompetent dumpster fire” of a party just keeps getting worse.
Don’t just take it from us, this tweet by Detroit News’ Chad Livengood really sums it up:
Don’t forget – even if Republicans eventually figure out who their chair is, they still have to contend with the fact that MAGA extremists stand ready in every corner. Whether it’s Karamo, Pego, Deperno, Soldano or maybe even MAGA Matt Hall it is clear the MIGOP will continue their radical agenda.
The entire country is taking notice of the MIGOP’s chaos, so much show that they even got a feature on The Rachel Maddow Show last night, where Rachel called out their continued decline:
MSNBC: Rachel Maddow — “Is There a Republican Party in Michigan Right Now?”
They also continued to make the rounds in other national news – check out more below:
CBS Detroit: Two chairs, two parties. Michigan Republicans deal with ouster of Kristina Karamo
- Eighty-eight percent of the vote. That’s how much supported ousting the current contested chair of the Michigan Republican Party at a meeting held over the weekend.
- It’s a meeting party chair Kristina Karamo has dismissed as illegitimate. “Unfortunately, you have a group of usurpers who have a variety of reasons why they claim to justify violating the rules as they did, and they put themselves up there as now they’re the Michigan Republican Party,” said Karamo.
- “With Malinda Pego as the acting chair, she has already met with our district chairs, and business will move forward. We will operate the same way that we had before,” said Bree Moeggenberg, a state party member. “We are already in the process, I believe, of developing new committees.”
MSNBC: GOP shows new signs of unraveling in key battleground state
- In theory, the outcome of Saturday’s vote created a vacancy at the top of the state GOP. In practice, Karamo said she doesn’t consider Saturday’s vote to be legitimate, and as such, she still believes she’s the chair of the Michigan Republican Party.
- At Donald Trump’s urging, Michigan Republicans nevertheless chose Karamo to lead the state party. That hasn’t turned out especially well: The Michigan GOP spent 2023 struggling badly to raise money, and party insiders deemed insufficiently right-wing were reportedly pushed out by the state party’s far-right leadership.
- Democrats in the Wolverine State have reason to be pleased.
CNN: Michigan Republicans vote to oust embattled leader Karamo
- Michigan Republicans voted Saturday to oust Kristina Karamo, the embattled chair of the state Republican Party, from her leadership role.
- “We have made history today,” Bree Moeggenberg, who is on the Michigan GOP’s state committee, said in a statement to CNN. “With over 88% of the members that were present and voting, we have taken the first step to engage and protect the various voices and liberties of all Republicans … we have voted to remove Kristina Karamo as the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party…”
- “Their performance has no legal standing, I am still chair of the Michigan Republican Party,” Karamo said.
POLITICO: Michigan Republicans vote to remove chair Kristina Karamo as she promises not to accept result
- Michigan Republicans have voted to remove state GOP Chair Kristina Karamo during a meeting Saturday after many of the party’s leaders called for her resignation following a year of leadership plagued by debt and infighting…
- Karamo did not attend the meeting and has made it clear she will not recognize the vote if removed, claiming the meeting was not official and had been illegally organized. The unfolding situation could set the stage for a court fight to determine control of the highest position within the Michigan GOP…
- The party, according to Karamo, had nearly $500,000 in debt as of October, with another $110,000 owed to actor Jim Caviezel for a speaking appearance. Karamo and the party are suing the trust that owns their headquarters with hopes of selling the building to pay off debts.
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