Attorney Matt DePerno withdraws Michigan Supreme Court bid on eve of MIGOP convention

(Detroit Free Press) FLINT — Attorney Matthew DePerno withdrew his bid for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court on the eve of Saturday's Michigan Republican Party state convention in Flint, which was also intended to select party nominees for three Michigan university boards and the State Board of Education.

For the Michigan Supreme Court, state Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Hillsdale, was elected to run for an eight-year term and Branch County Circuit Judge Patrick O'Grady was elected to run for a partial, four-year term.

After a long and sometimes contentious day, during which former Michigan Republican Party Chair Kristina Karamo showed up on the convention floor and was soon escorted out by police, other results of the first ballot, which were counted by hand, were not available at press time. Karamo said she attended to support a candidate and was causing no disruption when she was escorted out by "thugs." The party chair who replaced Karamo, Pete Hoekstra, said she was not a registered delegate and was offered a guest pass to observe from the gallery, but declined. About 4,000 delegates, alternates and guests attended the convention, officials said.

DePerno rose to prominence through an unsuccessful lawsuit that made false claims that vote-counting equipment manipulated 2020 election results in Michigan's Antrim County to benefit President Joe Biden and harm Republican Donald Trump. DePerno was the Michigan GOP nominee for attorney general in 2022, losing to Attorney General Dana Nessel, the incumbent Democrat, by about 8 percentage points. .................(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/24/matt-deperno-withdraws-candidacy-michigan-supreme-court/74933884007/