GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Michigan Court of Appeals is being urged to step into a dispute over leadership of the state Republican Party.
Lawyers for Kristina Karamo asked the court Wednesday to throw out a decision by a Kent County judge, who said a January vote to oust her was valid.
Judge Joseph Rossi said Tuesday that any actions by Karamo since Jan. 6 are "void and have no effect."
Karamo Appeal by WXMI on Scribd
"The order has injected more chaos into the political process," Karamo's lawyers said of Rossi's injunction. "The order will require a complete change of party administration, as well as cancellation or attempted cancellations of leases, contracts and other legal obligations, leaving the (party) in further disarray."
On Thursday the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed to hear the appeal, but denied a motion by Karamo to put Judge Rossi's decision on hold while the appeal is heard.
Karamo COA Grant and Denial by WXMI on Scribd
Karamo wants the appeals court to make a ruling by Friday, a day before she had planned to hold a major meeting in Detroit to select presidential delegates for the party's national convention.
But former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, with backing from the national party and former President Donald Trump, now is recognized as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. He is scheduled to lead a similar meeting Saturday across the state in Grand Rapids.
An email seeking comment from the party on the latest legal action was not immediately answered Thursday.
Karamo Appeal Response by WXMI on Scribd
Trump easily won Michigan's Republican primary this week over Nikki Haley.
"This is an intra-party dispute that should be resolved through the political process — not court intervention," Karamo's lawyers said. The former chair of the state's Republican party previously claimed the legal process would decide the dispute, when the Republican National Committee ruled Hoekstra the rightful chairperson.
How it started
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 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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
