Michigan's GOP may be turning the tide on fundraising: Where donations are coming from

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press
Updated 3 min read
0

LANSING — The Michigan Republican Party showed signs of financial life in a new federal report filed Monday, but still disclosed more than $184,000 in outstanding debt.

The party reported taking in just over $148,000 in donations between Jan. 1 and March 31, with the vast majority of those funds received in the latter part of March. It reported spending just under $77,000 and having about $318,000 in cash on hand.

Pete Hoekstra
Pete Hoekstra

A revolt over party finances was a major factor in the recent ouster of former party Chair Kristina Karamo after she completed only about half of her two-year term. Members of the state committee voted to remove Karamo on Jan. 6 and on Jan. 20 to replace her with Pete Hoekstra, a former west Michigan congressman who served as ambassador to the Netherlands under former President Donald Trump. The legitimacy of those moves was disputed by Karamo loyalists, but Hoekstra's election won the support of Trump and the Republican National Committee before Karamo's removal was sanctioned by a Kent County judge on Feb. 27.

"We are in good shape from where we were three months ago," Hoekstra said Tuesday. The former administration "totally destroyed the relationship with ... Washington, (D.C.), organizations. They totally destroyed the relationships with major donors. You've got to go back and rebuild those relationships, one step at a time."

The biggest donation — just over $33,000 — came from Grow the Majority, a political action committee tied to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who wants to protect and expand his narrow House majority in November.

The party also received 10 donations of $10,000 from individual Michigan Republicans, which marks an uptick over recent performance but falls short of past years when five-figure and six-figure donations were common.

Donors of $10,000 included: David Fischer, president and CEO of Suburban Motors; Bloomfield Hills homemaker Jennifer Fischer; Gary Granger, chairman of the Granger Group; former state treasurer and Meijer executive Mark Murray; former Michigan secretary of state and Byron Center businesswoman Terri Lynn Land; real estate associate Dan Hibma; Grand Rapids businessman Michael Jandernoa, founder and chairman of 42 North Partners; and Lockwood Companies President Rodney Lockwood, Jr. Also donating $10,000 each were Hoekstra and his wife, Diane.

The FEC report gives details on a significant state party federal account but by itself does not provide a complete picture of party finances. Certain party accounts are not subject to the same level of public reporting.

A significant portion of the $184,000 in reported debt relates to two invoices for computers of about $72,000 and $41,000, respectively. Hoekstra said those purchases were made under Karamo and the computers have never been located.

"We are not going to spend money until we have it," Hoekstra said.

Karamo did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment.

The state party is again listing its address at the former state party headquarters in Lansing, which is owned by a trust controlled by former state party chairs and which was vacated under Karamo.

Hoekstra said the party has still not gained control of its longtime website, migop.org, though the website content from the Karamo administration was finally taken down in recent weeks. The party is using a temporary website at michiganrepublicanparty.com, but still wants to get the passwords to the former site so it can place content there, Hoekstra said. Also, people connected with the Karamo administration continue to post messages to the social media platform X using @MIGOP, which was the state party's Twitter account.

Hoekstra said he has a meeting planned Tuesday with lawyers about possible court action involving the website and social media accounts.

"The bottom line is, I feel good about where we are right now," he said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan GOP fundraising sees boost, debt at $184K, new report shows

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