Judge Rules Michigan GOP Chair Was Properly Removed, Forces Her To Give Up Control Of State Party

 As Michigan voters went to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the Republican and Democratic primaries, a Kent County, Michigan, judge issued a preliminary injunction forcing state GOP Chair Kristina Karamo to give up control of party assets, ruling that she was properly removed from her position in January.

Karamo, who remained defiant after a faction of the Michigan Republican Party voted to remove her in a special meeting on January 6, was sued by her opponents as they sought to replace her with former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra. In his Tuesday ruling, Judge J. Joseph Rossi said that Karamo was removed “pursuant to party bylaws” and the plaintiffs in the case are “likely to prevail at trial,” Bridge Michigan reported.

The ousted GOP chairwoman was present in the courtroom gallery when Rossi announced his ruling and said after the decision that it was “absolutely ridiculous.” She added that for the time being, she has “to comply with the judge’s orders” and didn’t say if she would appeal the ruling.

“I’m not going to jail,” Karamo said.

The ruling also prohibits Karamo from calling herself the state GOP chair, which she had continued to do following the January 6 vote to oust her, according to Detroit Free Press reporter Paul Egan.

After the ruling, Hoekstra, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump to take over the Michigan Republican Party, said it is “time to unite and move forward with the business delivering the state of Michigan for our Party’s presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump.”

Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee also recognized Hoekstra as the Michigan GOP chair, which led to Karamo calling the national party “completely corrupt.”

“I’m still legally the chair,” Karamo said at the time. “The majority of the (Michigan Republican Party’s state) committee stands with me.”

 

Karamo, a former community college teacher, took over as party chair in early 2023 following her 2022 election loss in the secretary of state race to Democrat Jocelyn Benson. During her SoS campaign, Karamo aligned herself with Trump — who endorsed her — and focused on challenging the 2020 presidential results in Michigan, arguing that Trump won the state. While she came up short in her effort to win the SoS race, Karamo won the hearts of many conservatives in the state who viewed her as a rising star in the GOP. But many who once supported her rise to Michigan GOP chair became disillusioned not long after Karamo took the wheel.

One of the main criticisms leading up to Karamo’s ouster was her handling of the party’s finances after former chair of the 9th district, Warren Carpenter, revealed shocking information about the Michigan GOP’s financial instability. Months before a vital 2024 election, the Michigan GOP went into debt and defaulted on a half-a-million-dollar loan. To make matters worse, one of the party’s main fundraising events didn’t raise any money for the Michigan GOP in 2023.