GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kristina Karamo, elected as the chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party in 2023, traveled to Ottawa County on Wednesday to answer questions from local Republicans amid uncertainty as to whether she remains in the post.
Karamo, who rose to prominence following her challenges to ballots cast in Detroit in 2020 and an unsuccessful 2022 bid to become Michigan's secretary of state, began the night by addressing the crowd and talking about what the party was crafting in terms of organizing programs. She then took questions from an audience of local precinct delegates — elected individuals who serve as go-betweens from voters in local precincts to the state party.
Some of those questions had to deal with what the strategy would be going into the 2024 election year, including an initiative branded by the state GOP as its Good Neighbor program.
"{Precinct delegates] are to be your community's ambassador politically," Karamo said. "That is your role. And imagine how effective we would be if we organized at the neighborhood level to solve problems."
Other questions were related to Karamo's time at the helm of the party, not only amid some state party officials voting to oust her earlier this month, but also amid Comerica Bank alleging this month in a court filing that the party had defaulted on a loan of over $500,000.
"As of November 17, 2023, the [Michigan Republican Party] failed to make monthly interest payments on the Note due in October and November 2023," the court filing reads. "The MRP's failure to make timely interest payments constituted an Event of Default."
"As a result, Comerica sent a Demand Letter dated December 12, 2023 (the 'Demand Letter'), requesting immediate payment of all liabilities in full and invoking the default rate of interest. (Ex. A, Demand Letter)," the filing continued. "The MRP has not responded to the demand letter and, as of the date of this Motion, has been in default for over 120 days."
At the meeting, Karamo pushed back on those topics, asserting that she believed the vote to oust her was not official and that she won't recognize it.
"I know there is an individual claiming that they're chair; they're not," Karamo said. "I'm still legally the chair."
She also portrayed the party's financial situation, while behind the goals she set, as less dire than some may believe.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, it was unclear whether enough state officials were at that meeting earlier this month to officially oust Karamo, but one member did tell the AP that state party co-chair Malinda Pego would be serving as acting chair.
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