Michigan’s Republican convention removes chair amid party tensions

A messy Michigan Republican party gathering this weekend to nominate candidates for office illustrated the diminished sway of two high-profile Michigan election deniers and highlighted longstanding divisions within the party.

Matthew DePerno, who faces charges for allegedly assisting in a scheme to improperly access voting machines in the wake of the 2020 election, withdrew from the race for Michigan’s top court hours before the state party convention. In a statement, DePerno said that instead of running for state supreme court, he would “use my knowledge about how elections work to get Republicans elected”.

DePerno, a rightwing attorney from Kalamazoo, Michigan, was a vocal proponent of Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election in Michigan after Trump lost in 2020 to Joe Biden , appearing on rightwing media to promote the claims of widespread fraud and helping fund Arizona’s sham election audit. DePerno ran for Michigan attorney general in 2022 but lost decisively to Dana Nessel – whose office has charged him for his role in allegedly tampering with voting machines.

In 2023, he lost his bid to chair the state party to Kristina Karamo – an outspoken elections conspiracy theorist who was ousted from her role earlier this year amid accusations that she had mismanaged the party’s already dwindling finances.

During the convention, Karamo faced a more dramatic setback of her own when she was escorted from the venue by police officers. Karamo reportedly entered with an all-access pass, which was revoked during the convention. Pete Hoekstra, the party chair, told the Detroit Free Press it had been granted “in error”.

The Michigan Republican party has for years been beset with chaos and divisions caused by the influence of Christian nationalism, election conspiracies and extremism. When a faction within the party moved to oust Karamo earlier this year, the longstanding intra-party brawl came into national focus. This weekend’s convention proved that those divisions remain as present as ever.

“Look at the convention. People yelling, booing – why?” said Karamo, flanked by her supporters, as local police and event security guided her out of the building. “Because of corruption in the party.”

During the convention, Republicans nominated six fake electors from 2020 to serve as presidential electors this year. After DePerno dropped out, they chose Patrick O’Grady, a circuit court judge, as their nominee for the state supreme court.