(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On Feb. 29, the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party, Kristina Karamo, lost a court case that she hoped would allow her to retake her position.
The Feb. 29 ruling by a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals would not suspend a lower court’s ruling that affirmed Karamo’s removal as chair, which resulted from a Jan. 6 vote by party members.
In the Jan. 6 vote, 40 party members voted to remove her as chair because of months of fighting over finances and strategy, with party members stating she was putting the party at risk of bankruptcy. Karamo refused to accept the results of the Jan. 6 vote, calling the meeting “illegitimate” and stating the meeting did not comply with party bylaws. Another vote was held Jan. 13, with a majority of the party members voting Karamo should remain in the position. In a third vote held Jan. 20, members voted for former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra as chair. Since then, she has continued refusing to concede that she was voted out as chair.
On Feb. 27, Kent County Circuit Judge Joseph Rossi ruled that her actions since the vote on Jan. 6 were “void and have no effect” and barred her from continuing to identify herself as chair of the Michigan Republican Party. Rossi ruled that the Michigan Republican Party chair would be Hoekstra. Karamo immediately appealed the decision with an emergency request to the Michigan Court of Appeals to put the judge’s ruling on hold. The Feb. 29 ruling by the panel upholds the judge’s ruling, denying Karamo’s request while the panel considers her appeal.
The first black person elected as the chair of the Michigan Republican Party, Karamo was elected as chair in February 2023 at a state convention. In 2022, Karamo ran unsuccessfully for Michigan secretary of state, losing by 14 points, the widest margin of any statewide Republican race.
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