Kristina Karamo named Michigan GOP chair

Shifting gears to the Michigan State Republican Convention that was held this weekend, it played out like many recent GOP events have with conflicts and challenges. In the end, former Secretary of State candidate Christina Caramo won the position of party chair. Political reporter Rick Alban gives us a look inside the convention in Lansing. The purpose of the convention is multifaceted, to regroup, to pick a new chairman and to come together as a party to try to win elections after three less than stellar election cycles. For the delegates, Friday night's district meetings gave them a chance to get a better idea about who the next chairman of the party should be. The new chair will face a daunting task of bringing together new grassroots members of the GOP that distrust the establishment, while bringing establishment Republicans and the donor base they represent back into the fold after they largely set out in 2022. Of course, no convention is complete without those candidates running into the next cycle, and this time around, the big prize in 2024 will be an open U.

S. Senate seat. There are no shortage of GOP hopefuls when it comes to that race. Former candidate for governor Kevin Rinky and state education board member Nikki Snyder are both eyeing a run. One of the biggest prizes on the table in 2024 is going to be the rare open U.S. Senate seat.

I know a lot of people are taking a look at it. Have you considered that? I will be out in Washington, D.C., having discussions, and it's a great opportunity. Spence Abraham, when he was senator, did a great job from Michigan. And candidly, I think we've seen a decline. What made you decide to get into the race for some? I would say the conversations are changing.

Quite a few of them, especially in healthcare, education, raising taxes. Those conversations are actively changing, and I'm qualified to have them. A number of current and former members of Congress are also said to be considering a run. They will have plenty of company with Democrats when that race gets underway. But the real question at this convention is who will lead the party? Of what appeared to be the three main contenders to be chairman, there were two newcomers in Matt DiPerno, the GOP candidate for attorney general in 2022, and Christina Caramo, who emerged as the secretary of state candidate for Republicans just last year, both were unsuccessful in their general election hopes. Scott Greenlee has been involved in Republican politics since the Engler years and considered the more establishment candidate. Amid rules, challenges, and much conjecture, the convention dragged on through three ballots, along with some voting problems.

But a new chairman was finally chosen, Christina Caramo, who even in her nominating speech was still claiming fraud in the 2022 election. You may not always like me, but you know I'll keep my word. And that's what we need as chair and co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party. We need to fight to secure our elections. It's the reason I did not concede after the 2022 election. Why would I concede to a fraudulent process? Conceding to a fraudulent process is an agreement with the fraud, which I will not do. So now the question is, can this new chairperson unite this party? Perhaps attract some of those traditional Republican voters who've been sitting on the sideline.

More important, those traditional Republican donors. And can they win elections? First test will be to get this party back in good financial standing. A process we'll be watching. In Lansing, Rick Alden, News 8.

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