Former Ambassador Pete Hoekstra selected to lead Michigan GOP

Lansing − Former Ambassador Pete Hoekstra was elected chairman of a faction of the Michigan Republican Party that is fighting in court to be recognized as the legitimate replacement to embattled chairwoman Kristina Karamo.

The new chair, whose victory was clinched with a call from Mar-a-Lago, inherits a party torn by internal divisions and under financial stresses, including default on a roughly $500,000 loan, just 10 months ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Hoekstra's party filed suit Friday seeking a court order establishing the group as the legitimate state party after former chairwoman Karamo refused to acknowledge her removal as valid. The group plans to present the results of Saturday's election to the Republican National Convention to seek affirmation of the group's legitimacy.

"The national party needs to recognize this group," Hoekstra said. "When we are recognized then we've got to come together as a team and say, 'What work has been done on the presidential caucuses and the primary and what still needs to be done?'

"It's a tremendous amount of work in the next 40-45 days. We can't get to the primary and have two factions claiming to be the Republican Party."

Karamo's team called the news of Hoekstra's victory "fake news," and argued she was still the legitimate chairperson.

More:Kristina Karamo's opponents sue, ask judge to intervene in Michigan GOP leadership fight

Roughly 70 Republican state committee members and proxies assembled at a Lansing hotel Saturday morning for about three hours, during which time they voted on candidates that included former Congressional candidate Lena Epstein, Oakland County Party Chairman Vance Patrick and Hoekstra, a former West Michigan congressman and ambassador to the Netherlands under Republican former President Donald Trump.

Hoekstra received 30 votes in the first round of voting to Epstein's 27. Patrick, who received 13 votes, threw his support behind Hoekstra in the second round after receiving a call from the Trump campaign urging support for the former ambassador. Hoekstra won the second round of voting 50-22.

"It's a sad day that we had to do this, but how long do you continue to drive down a dirt road with your headlights off before you're going to crash?" Patrick said of Saturday's vote. "We were this close to crashing. Thankfully, we've got somebody else in here that can steer the ship and get us over the finish line."

Warren Carpenter, who helped lead the effort to remove Karamo, said the party's vote Saturday shows that the group has "course-corrected."

"I'm praying that moving forward, we're in this not to fight Republicans but to win elections and work against Democrats," Carpenter said. "That's the party I signed up for."

Hoekstra's party is hoping for a speedy decision in Kent County Circuit Court, where they're seeking a ruling that officially declares Karamo has been removed as chairwoman of the state's GOP.

The change in leadership, if affirmed by the courts and RNC, comes as the party is preparing for a Feb. 27 presidential primary and March 2 convention that will help decide which GOP candidate receives the state's delegates.

It's essential that, ahead of that vote, the courts and RNC support Hoekstra as chair. Hoekstra noted Trump could help to cement the new party's legitimacy.

"This Trump team is probably better than anyone we’ve ever seen before in terms of organizing and getting the vote out," Hoekstra said. "I think they know what happened here today and I think they know what they need to do.”

Karamo's former co-chairwoman Malinda Pego has been serving as the group's interim chairwoman since Jan. 6, when 40 state committee members voted to remove her as party chair.

Karamo, a former secretary of state nominee first elected to her position in February 2023, held a separate meeting Jan. 13 in which 59 committee members voted to keep her. There are about 107 state committee members in total. Karamo maintains the Jan. 6 meeting was invalid.

Earlier this week, Karamo sent cease and desist letters to 11 members arguing allegations against her and her leadership team and the use of the Michigan GOP title amounted to defamation of character, trademark infringement and copyright infringement.

The group now led by Hoekstra filed suit Friday seeking a court order upholding the results of the Jan. 6 meeting.

Ahead of the meeting Saturday, Epstein told supporters she would donate $500,000 in seed money and withdraw from a lawsuit filed by Karamo against former GOP chairs and donors over ownership of the party's Lansing headquarters.

In the lobby of the Lansing hotel, Epstein quipped: "Do I show them the blank check?"

She also promised better resources for Republican candidates, set out a $10 million fundraising goal, and pledged to mobilize training and recruitment programs for delegates and candidates.

She warned Hoekstra's "outdated methods and disconnect from today's political landscape" would hand the party's future to insiders who "previously failed to deliver results."

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

Staff writer Craig Mauger contributed.