Hoekstra: Judge's ruling makes clear that only MIGOP Grand Rapids convention will count

GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekstra says a Tuesday court ruling makes clear that Republican delegates who want their votes to count should gather Saturday at a convention he has called in Grand Rapids — not one in Detroit called earlier by Kristina Karamo.

Tuesday's primary election awarded 16 of the GOP delegates Michigan will send to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. Former President Donald Trump won most of those 16 delegates, though the exact number he won was not clear Wednesday morning, based on projections from The Associated Press. The party's other 39 convention delegates are to be awarded Saturday at a convention that will feature 13 separate meetings organized based on congressional districts.

After months of divisiveness in which both Hoekstra and Karamo claimed to be chair and each oversaw their own state GOP website and social media platforms, Kent County Circuit Judge Joseph Rossi issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday that bars Karamo from identifying herself as state party chair and from accessing state party mail and bank accounts.

Rossi ruled that Karamo, elected at a state convention just over a year ago, was properly removed by the state committee on Jan. 6 and any actions she has taken since then are "void and have no effect."

Hoekstra is a former ambassador and congressman who was elected to replace Karamo on Jan. 20 and whose leadership was earlier endorsed by both the Republican National Committee and former President Donald Trump. He said at an election night watch party in Grand Rapids that the ruling is another significant affirmation that only the Saturday convention in Grand Rapids, at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, is going to count.

"We've run the table on this," Hoekstra said of the leadership fight. "It's now over."

Prospective delegates must decide who they think is in charge

About 1,900 delegates have been credentialed for the Grand Rapids meeting, Hoekstra said, and his officials have reached out to all district chairs. Those district chairs and convention delegates elected recently at county conventions around the state now must decide "who you think the RNC is going to recognize as being the proper convention site," Hoekstra said.

"Those are decisions they make. I can't make decisions for them."

Karamo said after Tuesday's ruling she would abide by the court order, though she found the judge's reasoning and ruling "egregious." She wouldn't say whether the Detroit meeting Saturday, scheduled for Huntington Place, would go ahead, though she said the leadership dispute was not over in that members who support her will not tolerate what has happened.

Both Karamo and Hoekstra are Trump supporters.

Daire Rendon, chair of the 1st Congressional District, which takes in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, said Wednesday the issue is not a simple one.

Her delegates "must travel farther than anyone else in Michigan to participate in their party convention," Rendon said in an email.

"They have been planning to go to Detroit and have room reservations and travel plans all made. Since this half-baked decision yesterday, our delegates are very confused and upset."

Winning a court battle "does not automatically translate into winning the hearts and minds of the delegates," Rendon wrote. "Whatever THEY decide to do will determine where we caucus on Saturday."

Asked what he plans to do to bring the fractured elements of the state party together, Hoekstra said: "I don't worship at the idol of unity."

The dispute, he said, has not been about him or Karamo.

A fight over spending may be ahead

"This is about winning in November," he told reporters. "Those folks who want to join the Republican Party, who want to help elect Donald Trump as president ... they are welcome to be a part of our efforts."

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the longtime Michigan Republican Party website, which had been controlled by Karamo, was still promoting the Detroit convention Saturday. Hoekstra said Saturday he expects he will receive control of the website and party bank accounts in short order.

Otherwise, "we will go back to court and hold her in contempt." he said.

The party may also try to recover any improper expenditures that were made under Karamo since Jan. 6, Hoekstra said.

"What the party is legally responsible for, we will pay," Hoekstra said. "Republicans pay their bills. But for money we can claw back, we're going after it."

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

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hoekstra: Ruling makes clear that only 1 MIGOP convention will count