Michigan GOP votes to remove Kristina Karamo as chair

Over the weekend, members of the Michigan Republican Party voted to remove Chairwoman Kristina Karamo after a meeting on Jan 6, a process which Karamo has condemned as “illegitimate.”

In response to the meeting, Karamo made an X post claiming that the meeting was not official and that she will proceed with a committee meeting scheduled for Saturday.

37% of the MIGOP State Committee voting at an illegitimate meeting did not remove the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party (me) today. The meeting was not an official meeting of the State Committee.

The uniparty controlled media reporting to the contrary, means nothing.…

— Kristina Karamo (@KristinaKaramo) January 7, 2024

Karamo’s removal comes less than a year after she was elected as party Chair in February of 2023. Karamo’s former running mate Malinda Pego, who was present at the meeting and publicly called for Karamo’s removal last month, has been named acting Chair. In a statement, Pego contended that the pertinent bylaws were followed during the process to remove Karamo.

“For me, this is not a happy day,” the statement said. “It’s a somber day. However, the bylaws process and rules were followed. Now is the time to unify Republicans and grow our voter base to win elections throughout our state in 2024 and beyond.”

After a sweeping defeat in the 2022 midterms, where Democrats achieved a state-wide trifecta, the Michigan GOP chose the Trump-backed Karamo to lead them. However, her shortened term was mired by severe financial decline and infighting within her party that she often fostered. Similar to Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 Presidential election, Karamo said that she will never resign in a TV appearance last week.

In a video posted to Instagram on Sunday, Karamo denied the vote’s legitimacy and compared her detractors’s “blackmail” to Jeffrey Epstein.

Michigan Republican Party officials voted to remove GOP Chair Kristina Karamo from her role this weekend. In a post on Instagram, Karamo compares them to Jeffrey Epstein:

“These people are handpicked because they can be controlled.” pic.twitter.com/F8MHiWzJzG

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) January 8, 2024

Before getting elected as party chair, Karamo unsuccessfully ran for Michigan Secretary of State in 2022 where she lost to incumbent Jocelyn Benson (D). Aside from Trump’s election fraud claims, Karamo also subscribes to a multitude of conspiracy theories regarding abortion, homosexuality and Satan worship.