During a Saturday meeting, Michigan Republicans voted to remove state GOP Chair Kristina Karamo after numerous party leaders demanded her resignation after a year of leadership marred by debt and internal strife.

A substantial majority of those in attendance voted to remove Karamo from office, according to Bree Moeggenberg, a member of the state committee for District 2, as Politico reported.

The internal dispute occurred as the Michigan Republican Party attempted to recover from historic losses in the 2022 midterm elections. The party's dual objective for this year is to assist the Republican presidential nominee in winning the battleground state and turn an open U.S. Senate seat.

Karamo abstained from the meeting and has unequivocally declared her refusal to acknowledge the outcome of any counted votes, asserting that the gathering was illegitimate and improperly coordinated.

The evolving circumstances may pave the way for a legal dispute concerning the authority to appoint the leader of the Michigan Republican Party.

Leading Up to the Vote

Michigan is one of a number of swing states in which political parties have been surpassed by right-leaning leadership and have encountered challenges in dealing with internal strife and financial concerns.

Similar circumstances have transpired in Georgia and Arizona - also swing states - presenting a substantial concern for moderates going into the 2024 presidential election.

After the 2020 presidential election, Karamo, a former community college instructor, advanced through the ranks of the Michigan Republican Party while agreeing with the former president about concerns for election integrity.

In the end, former President Donald Trump supported her campaign for secretary of state in 2022, which she ultimately lost by 14 percentage points.

BREAKING - Who Should Be Next? Kristina Karamo Ousted as Michigan Republican Chairman with Overwhelming 90% Support for Removal pic.twitter.com/Zbg0C3IIbS

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 6, 2024

Saturday afternoon, approximately twelve Karamo supporters congregated in the vicinity of the small indoor gun-range facility situated in Commerce Township, where the gathering was taking place.

Policy committee member Barry Doherty of Brandon Township, was denied access to the meeting by security. Doherty stated that the assembly was not an officially convened meeting of the state Republican Party and that any decisions made would not be regarded as official prior to the vote.

“We’re here to let people know — other state committee members know — that next week is the meeting that is official that business is conducted and they can bring their grievances to that meeting,” Doherty said.

Doherty said that he and others support Karamo and her stance on election integrity and other issues. “I’m concerned that the people on the inside don’t see that and that good progress that is happening,” he said.

Doherty went on to assert that some attending Saturday’s meeting are “state committee members and guests," and "There are other state committee members who are not pleased with Kristina,” he added.