Michigan GOP Chairwoman Kristina Karamo purges critics from powerful state party committees

Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Kristina Karamo has removed several of her critics from influential positions in recent days, the latest in several divisive moves since she was elected in February.

Karamo announced last Friday that she has dissolved the party’s conflict-resolution committee, which was in place to handle internal disputes, the Detroit News’ Craig Mauger reported Tuesday.

The party has been nothing but divided since Karamo’s takeover, and disagreements have led to ideological infighting and significant financial decline. As a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and a believer in highly discredited conspiracy theories, Karamo has struggled to find common ground with the less radical members of her party who are currently calling for a vote to remove her from power.

Karamo also removed longtime activist Andy Sebolt as the Michigan Republican Party’s policy committee chairman, prompting a harsh response from her ideological opponents.

“She absolutely needs to be removed,” Sebolt said in a statement. “I wish that there was some other way. I wish that she could see the light and get away from the darkness she’s going down. But she’s got to do that herself. If she can’t do that herself, then we’re going to have to take some other approaches.”

Dawn Beattie, whom Karamo also removed from the policy committee, told Mauger that the chairwoman has “become quite the little authoritarian.”

For a removal vote to go forward, 50% of the state’s committee members need to sign on and vote for it. Then, 75% of the committee is needed to oust Karamo from her position.

Before her ascension as party chair, Karamo ran for Michigan Secretary of State last November and lost to incumbent Democrat Jocelyn Benson by 615,000 votes, or 14 percentage points.