GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Despite a published opinion by lawyers for the Republican National Committee, it appears Kristina Karamo will continue to fight for the role of chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party.
In a letter to GOP precinct delegates on Thursday, the attorney who may have been dismissed with Karamo says, "it is business as usual." Dan Hartman served as General Council for the Michigan GOP under Karamo. Like Karamo, he was voted out during a special meeting of the party on January 6. A meeting both Karamo and Hartman claim was invalid.
In his letter, Hartman says the opinion of the RNC's lawyers is not a declaratory ruling. "It’s obvious that this drama is part of the mission to remove Chairwoman Karamo. In my opinion, this letter was politically motivated to try and further intimidate her and her team," Hartman wrote.
READ MORE: RNC initial review says Karamo was properly removed
FOX 17 spoke with former Congressman Pete Hoekstra about the situation following the RNC's letter. Hoekstra was elected as the new chair of the Michigan Republican Party by the group of delegates who voted to oust Karamo.
Hoekstra says the decision by the Republican National Conference was "expected" because the precinct delegates at the January 6 meeting knew they were following the party's bylaws.
While Hoekstra is not credentialed as chair of the Michigan GOP for the national party's winter meeting in Las Vegas, he says he'll still attend. The RNC says he will be allowed as a guest. Hoekstra tells FOX 17 it was a big deal for the RNC to not credential Karamo as the chair. She will also be permitted to attend as a guest.
Hoekstra expects a formal decision by the RNC on who is the rightful chair of the Michigan GOP to come after the winter meeting.
What led to this
During a January 6 meeting precinct delegates voted to oust Karamo from her role as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. Karamo vowed before the meeting to not accept the results.
About 45 people, not including proxies, attended the meeting in Commerce Township where Karamo was voted out as chair. Nearly 89% of those present voted to remove her, Bree Moeggenberg, District 2 state committeewoman, said following the meeting.
A largely pro-Karamo meeting the following weekend voted to keep her leading the party.
Since then Karamo's camp and the portion of the party led by Acting Chair Melinda Pego traded statements claiming the other was in the wrong.
RELATED: Kristina Karamo continues to assert continued role as MI GOP chair
On January 17 Pego and other members of the party leadership filed a lawsuit in Kent County seeking a temporary restraining order against Karamo
On January 20 the Michigan GOP elected former CongressmanPete Hoekstra as the new chair, a vote also disputed by Karamo.
Karamo, a former community college instructor, rose through Michigan’s Republican ranks by spreading election conspiracies after the 2020 presidential election. She eventually was backed by former President Donald Trump in her run for secretary of state in 2022, losing by 14 percentage points ina result that she still refuses to concede.
