MICHIGAN REPUBLICAN PARTY

A little more than 12 hours after Tudor Dixon declared victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday, a who’s who of the Michigan Republican party gathered in Lansing for a “unity luncheon.”It was a pointed gesture. Coming off a fractious gubernatorial primary, the party is looking to present a single front going into its state convention in late August. Dixon was there, long with the presumptive nominees for attorney general and secretary of state, Matt DePerno and Kristina Karamo. “I mean, we are the Republican party. We’re all in one lane all the time, and that’s fighting Democrats.”Read More:Tudor Dixon walks the tightrope in gubernatorial bidFormer president Donald Trump endorses Tudor Dixon for governorFor Tudor Dixon, the path to victory for Michigan governor could rest on public opinion and big spendingTudor Dixon wins Michigan’s Republican gubernatorial primary, AP projects

Multiple threats of violence communicated to a female staffer with the Michigan Republican Party has resulted in the MIGOP cancelling an election night watch party it had originally planned in downtown Lansing. Gus Portela, the party’s deputy chief of staff and communication’s director, said in a statement that the party experienced several death threats earlier in the week. Due to the threats, Portela said, the event has since been cancelled. “Our party won’t be deterred, and we will continue to work tirelessly for Republican policies despite on-going threats. No type of violence against women should ever be tolerated.”The party indicated it has since filed a report with the Lansing Police Department over the matter.

We’re just days away from the primary, and the five Michigan Republican candidates for governor are pushing for your vote Wednesday night as they go head-to-head in their final debate. So far, the field has remained relatively close in the polling, especially between Tudor Dixon and Kevin Rinke.

Next Thursday, just four candidates will be on stage for the Michigan Republican Party’s next televised gubernatorial debate. “I am convinced that the polls are not accurately representing what’s going on in Michigan,” Rebandt said in an interview. Gustavo Portela, a spokesperson for the Michigan Republican Party, said rules were set well before the signature scandal and the party still finds them appropriate. All five ballot-qualified candidates will appear in a debate hosted by the Brighter Michigan PAC in Macomb County Thursday evening. Candidates will meet for at least one more party-hosted debate in Detroit July 20, but what candidates need to qualify for that debate hasn’t been publicized.

We’re diving into what the Republican Party in Michigan is about right now.

But the Republicans who did not get the party nod at the Michigan Republican Party endorsement convention held Saturday, April 23, think it will take a “tsunami” for Matt DePerno and Kristina Karamo to win. There will be another convention in August, and any pick from April’s endorsement convention can be overturned with a 75% vote. In addition to the upcoming August convention, Republicans created an April endorsement convention – mimicking a move by the Democratic Party – in hopes of uniting the party earlier in the election season. Nessel is not as vulnerable as many Republicans think, Berman said, so it will take a candidate who can win the middle to beat her. Berry laments the division in the Republican Party, reciting quotes from Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan on being united.

Former President Donald Trump's extraordinary effort to mold Republicans' 2022 tickets will be put to the test this weekend in Michigan, where thousands of party activists will endorse candidates, including in a contentious attorney...

The questionnaire, crafted by “America First” precinct delegates and conservative activists, forms a statement of priorities for the group of pro-Donald Trump Republicans. “Grow the party and open that up to new precinct delegates.”Ell played a key role in orchestrating the removal of former Michigan Republican Party executive director Jason Roe after he said voter fraud didn’t cause Trump’s loss. The Michigan Republican Party has officially acknowledged Joe Biden as the president but continues to cater to conservatives who don’t accept that Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes. “If they vote against our Republican Party president, defy our Party Platform and have deceived those that put them in office, do they belong in the Republican Party leadership? “This is not a Republican state.

Former Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox was called to testify before a U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot about her knowledge of the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn the state’s election results. Related: Trump campaign asks Michigan lawmakers to steal electors from Biden; GOP leaders say it won’t happen“The Michigan Republican Party has partnered with the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee to investigate over 1,000 incidents (of alleged voter fraud) that occurred,” Cox said on Dec. 2, 2020. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said the “fight is not over” and called for investigations into the results. Subpoenas were issued to Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden and Marya Rodriguez, who served as the chair and secretary of Michigan’s Republican electors. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was interviewed in November 2021 and forwarded a copy of the false certificates to investigators.

The chairperson and secretary of a group of 16 Michigan Republicans who signed a false certificate claiming Donald Trump won Michigan’s electoral votes in the 2020 General Election have been subpoenaed by the U.S. House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol.

Meshawn Maddock, the Co-Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, was one of the 16 GOP electors who submitted false electoral college documents to the National Archive in an attempt to give former President Donald Trump a win after the fact in Michigan.

Meshawn Maddock, the Co-Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, was one of the 16 GOP electors who submitted false electoral college documents to the National Archive in an attempt to give former President Donald Trump a win after the fact in Michigan.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes questioned whether Republican poll challengers for 2022 will be properly trained. In response, the Michigan Republican Party and conservative activists put out a last-minute call for poll watchers to rush into Detroit. Two Republicans on the board pointed to affidavits filed by Republican poll challengers but ultimately voted to certify the results. Republicans say their poll watchers only made up 170 of the more than 5,400 Detroit election officials working in 2020. “Typically you’d have the same type of team deployed about three months out,” said Gus Portela, a spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party.

A report from the office of the Auditor-General claims the state undercounted the number of deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic.

On the same day, Republican nominees gathered at the Michigan Republican Party headquarters in Lansing to sign the unofficial documents. They were denied entry by the Michigan State Police. Trump pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to install Republican electors or reject Democratic electors from swing states Biden won in response to unproven fraud allegations. The Michigan Republican Party has not been contacted by the Jan. 6 committee, according to a spokesperson. Michigan election law does include a provision against forgery, but Friedman said it’s unclear whether that applies.

OWOSSO, MI — Fewer than 10 Black Republicans have ever been elected to state-level positions in Michigan’s history, something a growing pool of Black Republican candidates are looking to change in 2022. The handful of Black Republicans running for office in Michigan this year will put conventional political wisdom to the test. But in the modern era of America’s political parties, electing Black Republicans has been almost unheard of. If Black Republicans want to win statewide races, they’re going to have to appeal to urban voters, Bradley said. He would become the fifth Black Republican to ever be elected to the Michigan House if elected.

Gretchen Whitmer’s gubernatorial campaign that exceed the usual limit will now include input from Whitmer, who was not named as a party in the initial suit. Whitmer’s campaign has accepted contributions of up to $250,000 from individuals -- far above the typical $7,150 limit on individual contributions. Attorneys for Benson did not respond to the motion, and the Michigan Republican Party filed a notice of non-objection. U.S. District Court Judge Janet T. Neff granted the Whitmer campaign’s motion to intervene on Wednesday, meaning Whitmer, through her campaign, can participate in the ongoing litigation. More on MLive:Whitmer’s blockbuster fundraising was fueled by jumbo donations over normal limitMichigan GOP sues to stop Whitmer from keeping ‘excessive’ campaign contributionsOversized donations to Whitmer prompt campaign finance complaintA year-plus out from the election, Whitmer’s already topped her own fundraising from 2018

The Michigan Republican Party and its chair, Ron Weiser, are suing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over allowing contributions to Gov. Whitmer reported donations as large as $250,000 in her last campaign finance report, well over the typical individual limit of $7,150. Weiser and other Republicans would contribute more than $7,150 to Republican candidates if allowed, plaintiffs argue. But as-is, Whitmer can “raise unlimited contributions while all of her Republican-opposition candidates are only allowed to raise contributions under the limits” of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, the lawsuit argues. However, those funds must be returned or donated if the recall does not become active.”Mark Fisk, a spokesperson for the Whitmer campaign, said, “The lawsuit is totally baseless, ludicrous and frivolous.

An internal committee of the Michigan Republican Party is set to vote on a pair of resolutions on Saturday censuring two members of Congress who supported the Jan. 6 commission and calling for the resignation of a state senator who authored an election report stating that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

LANSING, MI — A high-ranking Michigan Republican Party official who faced calls for censure and removal after blaming Donald Trump for losing the 2020 election has resigned. Jason Roe announced his resignation Wednesday from his position as executive director of the state Republican party. In a May 17 interview with MIRS News, Roe said he stands by earlier remarks that Trump “blew” the 2020 election. Roe has said uniting the Republican Party is one of the biggest challenges going into the 2022 election season. A spokesperson for the Michigan Republican Party could not be reached for comment.

Members of the Michigan Republican Party are speaking out after a campaign finance complaint was filed last week.

More than 550 Republican delegates are supporting an effort to censure and remove a high-ranking Michigan Republican Party official who blamed former President Donald Trump, not alleged voter fraud, for his 2020 election loss. Roe has said uniting the Republican Party is one of the biggest challenges going into the 2022 election season. “We are not attacking the party because we are the party,” Ell said. Michigan’s certified election results show President Joe Biden won the state by 154,188 votes. READ MORE ON MLIVE:Republican who challenged Michigan election results now running for Secretary of StateA closer look at how Trump lost Michigan: State releases election results by city, townshipJudge reins in sprawling Michigan election fraud lawsuitAntrim County hand recount results in 12 new votes for TrumpWith the world watching, a Republican state canvasser helps make Biden’s win in Michigan official

Debra Ell, a Republican organizer in Michigan and fervent supporter of former president Donald Trump, said she has good reason to believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

ANN ARBOR, MI - Ron Weiser, the head of the Michigan Republican Party and a University of Michigan regent, issued an apology Saturday for comments he made about Gov. I apologize to those I offended for the flippant analogy about three women who are elected officials and for the off-hand comments about two other leaders,” his statement read in part. The Michigan Daily reports two other Democratic regents, Mike Behm and Paul Brown, would also ask Weiser to resign. Weiser was elected to the board of regents in 2016, and his term expires in 2025. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel issued a statement Saturday condemning the remarks.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The leader of Michigan’s Republican Party apologized Saturday for the controversial comments he made at a meeting of the North Oakland Republican Club. READ: Michigan GOP chair causes controversy with ‘witches,’ assassination remarksAt the meeting, GOP Chair Ron Weiser referred to Gov. I apologize to those I offended for the flippant analogy about three women who are elected officials and for the off-hand comments about two other leaders. Michigan GOP chairman Ron WeiserWeiser’s comments at the meeting brought a quick response from Whitmer, who was targeted in an alleged domestic terrorism plot last year. “Given the dramatic increase in death threats against Michigan elected officials during the Trump Administration, this type of rhetoric is destructive and downright dangerous,” Whitmer said.

The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party called the state's top female Democratic officials "witches" and joked about assassinating GOP Congress members who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. "We're focused on the three witches," Weiser said, adding that he was also working on winning Republican majorities in the state's House and Senate. Do better, Michigan GOP." Do better, Michigan GOP. https://t.co/v14V0mJE4G pic.twitter.com/NC2XTuNs3c — Dana Nessel (@dananessel) March 26, 2021CBS News has reached out to Weiser and the Michigan Republican Party for comment.

University of Michigan alum Ron Weiser is a former ambassador to Slovakia in President George W. Bush's administration. At the meeting, GOP Chair Ron Weiser referred to Gov. AdWeiser has been party chair for only a few months, but he’s had the position before. READ: Michigan GOP elects new leadership amid accusations of corruption“Our job is to soften up those three witches and make sure we have good candidates to run against them,” Weiser said. Do better, Michigan GOP.

The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party called the state's top female Democratic officials "witches" and joked about assassinating GOP Congress members who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. "We're focused on the three witches," Weiser said, adding that he was also working on winning Republican majorities in the state's House and Senate. Do better, Michigan GOP." Do better, Michigan GOP. https://t.co/v14V0mJE4G pic.twitter.com/NC2XTuNs3c — Dana Nessel (@dananessel) March 26, 2021CBS News has reached out to Weiser and the Michigan Republican Party for comment.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson last year said local clerks should start with a presumption of validity when verifying signatures on absentee ballot applications, but a court ruling says that rule wasn’t properly established. A Michigan Court of Claims judge last week ruled that clerks no longer need to follow those instructions for determining whether to send an absentee ballot to applicants. Only signatures with “multiple significant and obvious” inconsistencies should be questioned, Benson advised, according to the judge’s analysis of the rule. The ruling leaves certain standards for accepting absentee ballot application signatures at the discretion of the local clerk, unless the Legislature created legal guidelines or the Secretary of State’s Office creates administrative rules for that determination. Clerks additionally compare signatures on absentee ballots with signatures on file before votes are counted during any election.

that allegedly involved national GOP Party Chair Ronna McDaniel after Weiser allegedly called McDaniel. She is also mentioned in a similar pay-off scheme during her run for Michigan GOP Chair, also allegedly organized by Weiser. Michigan’s GOP elected the new leadership amid party infighting and accusations of illegal activity. One involved an alleged $200,000 pay-off for a candidate to drop out of a race that allegedly involved national GOP Party Chair Ronna McDaniel after Weiser allegedly called McDaniel. She is also mentioned in a similar pay-off scheme during her run for Michigan GOP Chair, also allegedly organized by Weiser.

Ron Weiser, chairman of the University of Michigan Board of Regents. DETROIT – University of Michigan Board of Regents member Ronald Weiser was elected to Michigan’s GOP chair during Saturday’s virtual Michigan Republican Party 2021 Convention. AdWeiser had been the Michigan GOP chair from 2009-2011 and 2017-2019. Ambassador to Slovakia under President George W. Bush from 2001-2005 and has been on the University of Michigan Board of Regents since 2016. The rest of Saturday’s election results can be read on the Michigan GOP website here.

DETROIT – Current Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox said she was dropping out of the race for another term -- a decision expected to be made at the state party convention on Saturday (Feb. 6). That decision would also leave former chair and current University of Michigan Regent Ron Weiser as the only candidate for the position. However, days before the convention, Cox accused Weiser -- when he was chairman -- of paying out $200,000 in party money to Shelby Township Clerk Stanley Grot, a payment in return for Grot dropping out of the race in 2018 for secretary of state. The funds were paid to Grot over a six-month period; however, Grot and Weiser claim the six-figure payment was for doing delegate recruitment. Cox claimed that with Grot dropping out of the race, the GOP could then put a woman on the ticket on its all-male ticket.

LANSING, MI - Laura Cox is back on the ballot in the race for Michigan Republican Party chair, entering the fray days before Saturday’s election. The current party chair went in swinging at Ron Weiser, a two-time former party chair who was previously considered the presumptive incoming co-chair alongside 11th District GOP Chair Meshawn Maddock. Cox accused Weiser in a Jan. 15 email of paying former Secretary of State candidate Stanley Grot $200,000 to step down from his 2018 campaign. “There is clear evidence that a secret deal was made between Ron Weiser and Stan Grot,” she wrote. The contract in question was drafted by counsel, and I relied on that counsel,” Weiser wrote.

click to enlarge Screengrab/ZoomMichigan Board of State Canvassers member Aaron Van Langevelde. The Michigan Republican Party is throwing Aaron Van Langevelde to the curb after he voted to certify Joe Biden’s win in November.One of two Republicans on the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, Van Langevelde was hailed as a lone voice of reason after he resisted pressure from inside his party to delay certification. The other Republican, Norman Shinkle, abstained.Now the Michigan Republican Party plans to replace him with another conservative activist when his four-year term expires on Jan. 31. The other nominees are Tony Daunt, director of the conservative Michigan Freedom Fund, and Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action.Gov. “That is very clear.”Leaders of the Michigan Republican Party have repeatedly peddled false claims about election fraud in a shameless attempt to overturn Biden’s victory.

ANN ARBOR, MI — University of Michigan faculty and students are mounting two campaigns to remove Ron Weiser from his regent position, citing his “complicity” after the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Weiser is poised to become the co-chair of the party in Michigan. A petition for his removal started shortly after the incidents at the Capitol and now has more than 4,600 signatures. It acknowledges that Weiser was democratically elected to his position on the board and acknowledges his right to seek the chair of the Michigan Republican Party. The main reason Weiser is being recalled, according to Fisher, is that there is an ‘R’ next to his name.

LANSING, MI -- Michigan Republicans who tried to cast electoral votes for President Donald Trump have virtually no chance of overturning his loss. Biden earned 2.8 million Michigan votes, surpassing Trump’s 2.65 million votes by a margin of 154,188 votes. Richard Friedman, a professor at the University of Michigan and constitutional law expert, called the attempt to cast electoral votes for Trump a political “stunt.” The Republican elector votes have no legal authority, he said. He cited the 1961 election, when Hawaii’s Republican and Democratic slates of electors cast votes for president while awaiting the result of a recount. Michigan State Police denied the Republicans and anyone else not involved in the process of casting electoral votes entry to Capitol building.

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Rep. Gary Eisen has been removed from his committee assignments for the rest of the term after he made comments during a radio interview on Monday. Whitmer, Secretary Benson, Rep. Johnson and others on the Oversight committee, Republicans, Democrats, and members of the Electoral College. Because of that, Rep. Eisen has been removed from his committee assignments for the rest of the term. Our group, who will also be at the Capitol today to request to be seated as electors, intends to participate in our democracy peacefully. Rep. Gary EisenREAD: Michigan State House and Senate offices close Monday during Electoral College vote

DETROIT – In an interview with Fox News Sunday morning Republican and Michigan House Speaker, Lee Chatfield, talked about the possibility of a “constitutional crisis” ahead of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers scheduled Monday meeting to certify election results. Chatfield debunked circulating rumors that he was asked to intervene in the election process during Friday’s meeting. Currently, Black voters are suing the Trump campaign over its effort to invalidate election results. Since the presidential election Republican leaders have made allegations of voter fraud without substantial evidence. It began the day you and other leaders refused to stand behind our clerks and election process,” said Koleszar in the Tweet.

DETROIT – Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox penned a joint letter dated today to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers asking to delay the certification of election results for two weeks. Since the presidential election Republican leaders have made allegations of voter fraud without substantial evidence. The letter was sent only a day after Michigan Republican leaders met with President Donald Trump. After the meeting both leaders issued a joint letter noting that the meeting with the president was on the state’s fight against COVID-19. @Local4News pic.twitter.com/qUMYjSr35H — Grant Hermes (@GrantHermes) November 21, 2020My joint letter with @GOPChairwoman to the Members of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers.

The RNC chair said legal teams were deployed to Michigan and three other states to investigate various claims, but it’s too early to say whether Republicans will seek a recount in Michigan. “We were way up in Michigan, won the state,” Trump said, “and that got whittled down.”McDaniel did not repeat those claims, but accused Gov. Trump Victory, a combined effort of the RNC, Trump campaign, and Michigan Republican Party organized the Thursday press conference at the Oakland County GOP headquarters. “To not allow us to watch this canvass process is only going to divide our state more,” McDaniel said. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox expressed concern about a software glitch in Antrim County that caused results to be inaccurately reported.

LANSING, Mich. The Michigan Republican Party is calling for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to apologize after she said she believes had protesters during the anti-stay-at-home rallies been Black, they would have been killed by law enforcement. That response has drawn criticism from Michigan GOP Chairman Laura Cox who said Whitmer owed members of the state police who guard the capitol an apology. You know she's the governor over the Michigan State Police. The calls to defund departments has become a rallying cry and policy push during nationwide protests.

DETROIT – In recent days the Detroit News and Bridge Magazine have published stories about Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s lawsuit against the owner of the Edenville Dam, which tragically failed on Tuesday forcing thousands to evacuate their homes because of the floods. Nessel wanted more water added to promote the safety of freshwater mussels, which she alleged were being damaged by the low water levels. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox is calling on Nessel to recuse her office from the investigation of the Edenville Dam tragedy and transfer the inquiry to federal authorities. "With these troubling new revelations that the state’s lawsuits may have played a role in this tragedy, it is clear that Attorney General Dana Nessel should not lead this investigation. Therefore, the Michigan Republican Party calls for the Attorney General to turn over the investigation of the Edenville Dam’s failure to federal authorities.

Chairs of the Michigan Republican Party and the Democratic Party discuss the Michigan primaryIf you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566.