Trumpers vs. Traditionalists: Michigan GOP Split Echoes National Divide

LANSING, Mich.— When a fight broke out at a closed-door meeting of the Michigan GOP state committee, a kick to the groin and broken dentures interrupted discussion of the dismal finances of the state Republicans’ party. The altercation last month at the Doherty Hotel in Clare, Mich., made clear that the Michigan Republican Party—now dominated by its right flank staunchly aligned with former President Donald Trump—has descended into chaos. It can barely fundraise and has all but gone broke.

State lawmakers have taken to raising money on their own, unable to rely on the party at a time when Republicans are seeking to reclaim a majority in the state legislature and prepare for the 2024 election in Michigan, a crucial presidential swing state.

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In Michigan, the statewide party organization has embraced conspiracy theories and far-right political views. The party website, for example, has a section pledging to stop what it deems a global cabal. “The Democrat party, in direct partnership with China and globalist organizations, has abandoned Detroit and the working class,” it says. “The new folks don’t even consider us Republicans anymore,” said John Truscott, once an aide to former Republican Gov. John Engler. “I would say they’re running it into the ground,” he said of the new party stalwarts, “but it’s already imploded. They’re out of money, they can’t do anything.”

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Karamo, who was a poll watcher in the 2020 election, was elected chair of the state party in February, running on a platform that included denying the 2020 election results. Karamo ran for secretary of state in 2022 with backing from Trump. She lost by a double-digit margin but refused to concede the race. In June, she was among a group of defendants ordered by a judge to pay the legal fees incurred by Detroit after she unsuccessfully sued the city over absentee-voting procedures in the 2022 state election. She drew attention and criticism for her defense of Michigan Republican Party social-media posts comparing gun-safety legislation to the Holocaust. Since she took the helm of the party, it has lost money. Its second-quarter financial report showed it has about $147,000 on hand.

Jase Bolger, a former Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said the state GOP has eschewed big donors for “grassroots” donors—which he called a mistake.

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