Karamo tossed out, DePerno bows out of chaotic Michigan GOP convention

• Michigan Republicans convened in Flint to select nominees for supreme court, university boards and the state board of education
• The daylong event was still marked by bouts of drama and arguments as former Chair Kristina Karamo appeared but was removed by police
• Matthew DePerno, the GOP's 2022 nominee for attorney general, dropped his Michigan Supreme Court bid shortly before the convention

FLINT — Michigan Republicans on Saturday nominated Bill O’Grady and state Rep. Andrew Fink for the state Supreme Court after prominent election denier Matthew DePerno dropped his bid on the eve of the party’s state convention. 

The delegate votes capped a convention that couldn’t fully shake off the turmoil and infighting that has plagued the party in recent years, as ousted former chair Kristina Karamo appeared but was escorted out by police and a convoluted hand-count balloting process pushed the release of results late into the night.

Both of the state’s major political parties held nominating conventions Saturday to select statewide candidates not chosen by popular vote in primaries. That includes public university governing boards, Michigan Supreme Court candidates and presidential electors.

Fink, a state representative from Hillsdale, was nominated to fill a Michigan Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice David Viviano, who opted not to seek reelection. He topped Court of Appeals Judge Mark Boonstra, who was endorsed for the post by former President Donald Trump.

O’Grady, a probate judge in Branch County, was nominated to serve a partial, four-year term for the seat that had been vacated by former justice Bridget Mary McCormack.

Speaking to reporters after the nomination vote at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Fink said he would “judge every case based on what the law says, not based on what the judge would say if the judge were the one writing the law.”

The Democratic ticket for the Supreme Court race was already solidified prior to the Saturday conventions. 

Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who was appointed to the court by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to replace McCormack, ran unopposed, as did Kimberly Thomas, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School running for Viviano’s seat.

DePerno, a one-time candidate for attorney general, had also sought the nomination for the partial term, but he withdrew and threw his support behind O’Grady hours before the convention.

“We all must put ambition and division to the side,” in order to elect Trump, DePerno said in a brief speech to the convention delegates.

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In an email announcing his withdrawal, DePerno asked delegates to “dig deep and think hard about which of the candidates for each of these positions would make the strongest ticket in November.”

DePerno was a leading figure in 2020 election conspiracy theories and is facing criminal charges for allegedly tampering with voting machines after the contest in a fruitless attempt to uncover evidence it was rigged against Trump.

He’s pleaded not guilty and called the charges “political persecution.” He also faces potential disbarment by the attorney discipline board for professional misconduct charges, which could have jeopardized his ability to serve.

But perhaps most pertinent for the GOP nomination: He lost favor with grassroots contingents of the party over his opposition to Karamo, which grew into a bitter tit-for-tat between the two former candidates who shared the 2022 ticket as GOP nominees for attorney general and secretary of state, respectively. 

Division bubbled up

Party leaders sought to ensure the Republicans can unite and focus on the November election after months of internal conflict that saw the party riven by factionalism and split over Karamo’s leadership. 

New Chair Pete Hoekstra, a former Trump ambassador to the Netherlands who took full control of the party by court order in late February, was greeted by more boos than cheers as he opened the convention on Saturday. 

“It’s obvious some of you don’t like me; that’s okay,” Hoekstra later told the gathered delegates from the stage. “I’m not on the ballot.”

Hoekstra said his priority was “putting together an organization that is a winning team.”

Hoekstra has led the party for more than seven months, since Karamo was ousted by a faction of the party who soon after elected Hoekstra to succeed her.

But the party again came face-to-face with that recent turmoil when Karamo, who was backing candidate Alexandria Taylor for state Supreme Court, appeared on the convention floor Saturday morning surrounded by supporters. 

They formed a tight ring around her and initially prevented security from getting close. Police eventually escorted her out of the building.

“She was offered a guest credential. She refused. She was asked to take a seat, she refused. She was asked to politely leave, but refused,” Michigan GOP executive director Tyson Sheppard said in a statement. 

“Law enforcement was called and escorted her out of the building for causing a disruption and clogging up the floor.”

As police walked her out of the convention, Karamo told reporters she thought her removal was an example of “corruption” in the party and said she “absolutely” intended to become involved again in some capacity.

Karamo has been barred since a Feb. 28 court order from claiming to still be the party’s leader, but she has continued to issue criticism for the party in exile.

“I'm here to support a candidate ,and look what's happening,”  Karamo said as police moved her toward her car. “This is why politics in America is falling apart.”

Hoekstra said the resistance was expected.

“You're always going to have an element of dissent. I've experienced that for the whole time I've been in politics, but I can tell you that group's a whole lot smaller than what it was five months ago,” he said. “If they're united behind Donald Trump, which they are … they are united behind Mike Rogers, that's the important thing.”

One other convention attendee from the 11th district was arrested and removed from the arena later in the day, after convention organizers said the person became belligerent and interfered with convention proceedings.

A long-running feud over the leadership of the Kalamazoo County Republican Party also boiled over as delegates sought to air grievances and moved to oust the current leaders. The motion failed.

“We’re in a lot better place than we were two years ago,” Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Cannon Township, told Bridge as screams of “liar!” echoed off of the convention floor.

Still, Republican attendees were certain the party was unified behind their presidential nominee in Trump.

“The issue that will get people out is that they're motivated (because) they want to be part of voting Donald Trump,” said Bennett Jamieson, an alternate delegate from Allegan County.

House in the balance 

Beyond competitive races for the White House, U.S. Senate and  U.S. House, Republicans are seeking to end Democrats’ first period of full control of state government in 40 years. Democrats hold a narrow two-seat majority in the state House with all 110 seats up for election in November. 

By flipping just a few districts, Republicans could reclaim control of the state House and end Democrats’ ability to unilaterally set state policy.

Rep. Bill Schuette, R-Midland, is leading Republicans’ campaign arm in that fight.

“It's always hard to beat incumbents and the path of the majority goes through incumbents, we recognize that we're clear eyed about that,” Schuette said in an interview. “What I will say is all these incumbents have voting records, and their voting records are bad … they’ve given us a lot to work with.”

'Fake electors' return

Republicans on Saturday also nominated would-be presidential electors, including six activists nominated to the same posts four years ago but now accused of crimes for their role in the so-called “fake elector” plot.

They are among 16 individuals facing felony charges for trying to help overturn Trump’s election loss by allegedly signing a document asserting he won the state, despite Biden winning Michigan by over 154,000 votes.

If Trump wins Michigan over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November, those nominees could be chosen as legitimate electors. They include former state party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, Hank Chaote, John Haggard, Amy Facchinello, Timothy King and Marian Sheridan.

At the same time, Republican delegates chose not to re-nominate their two of their three incumbents on university boards up for reelection: Michigan State University Trustee Dan Kelly and University of Michigan Regent Ron Weiser, a former state party chair and longtime donor who DePerno had backed. 

The party had adopted a convoluted process for hand-counting and verifying the vote, and two rounds of voting were necessary to select university board members and presidential electors, stretching the convention late into the night.

“When I first got involved in the party, I thought it was very, very important that we do hand counts,” said Anne DeLisle, the 8th Congressional district Republican Party chair. “But obviously when you have six to eight hours of voting and counting, it makes one kind of think maybe a tabulator that's not connected to the internet isn't so bad.”

Here’s who was nominated by delegates in Saturday’s convention:

• For seats on the Michigan Supreme Court: Andrew Fink and Bill O’Grady
• For seats on the State Board of Education: Tom McMillin and Nikki Snyder, who currently hold seats on the board, were nominated again for another term
• For seats on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees: Mike Balow and July Maday
• For seats on the Wayne State University Board of Governors: Michael Busuito, a current member of the board, and Sunny Reddy
• For seats on the University of Michigan Board of Regents: Sevag Vartanian and Carl Meyers