Michigan Judge Affirms Removal of Kristina Karamo as State GOP Chair Amid Contentious Leadership Dispute

A Michigan judge affirmed the removal of State GOP Chair Kristina Karamo, weighing on a contentious leadership dispute within the party.

The preliminary injunction was issued by Kent County Circuit Judge J. Joseph Rossi that would bar Karamo from conducting business as the party chair. The development was revealed in a court document.

Michigan GOP Chair Ousted

(Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Michigan GOP Chair Kristina Karamo was removed from her position and the decision was affirmed by a state judge.

The court found that the Michigan GOP chair was removed from her position back in January and that any actions since "purporting to be taken on behalf of the Michigan Republican State Committee are void and have no effect."

The judge's order hands a victory to former Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan who was recognized as chair earlier this month by the Republican National Committee (RNC). It was a few hours before polls closed in the Great Lake State's Tuesday presidential primary.

After Karamo's tenure as a chair, which was rife with debt and discord, she was voted out of her post a few weeks ago. However, despite public support from both the RNC and former United States President Donald Trump for Hoekstra, Karamo dug in to insist that she still had authority over the state party, as per The Hill.

The leadership dispute resulted in further confusion in the state's already complicated nominating process. The results from the Tuesday presidential preference race will be used to allocate some of the delegates on the GOP side. The rest of the delegates will then be set to be allocated based on the results of a state GOP convention that is scheduled for this weekend.

While Hoekstra planned to hold a convention in Grand Rapids, Karamo had planned a dueling convention across the state in Detroit. The new court order prohibits Karamo from "calling any meeting of the Michigan Republican State Committee" or "conducting, or attempting to conduct, any business in the name of the Michigan Republican State Committee or the Michigan Republican Party."

Kristina Karamo Fires Back

Karamo will now be barred from falsely claiming herself the state party's chair and she will be restricted from accessing its bank accounts and postal boxes. In response to Circuit Judge Joseph Rossi's ruling, Karamo called it "egregious."

The situation comes as a possible appeal is pending and a trial in the case is scheduled for June later this year. Karamo said that she would have to comply with the judge's order in the case but argued that she would not go to jail, according to USA Today.

With the judge's ruling, Hoekstra's convention would most likely receive the allocation of 39 of the state's 55 presidential delegates. The selected delegates will then attend the National Republican Convention (NRC) that will be held in Milwaukee from Jul. 15 to Jul. 18.

Prior to voting Karamo out of her position, her opponents branded her as a "disaster," an "epic failure," and a "tyrannical, incompetent dumpster fire." On the other hand, she insisted that her ousting was illegitimate and she denounced the efforts against her as part of a "fraudulent" effort to remove her from her position, said the Independent.