Debt-ridden Michigan GOP seeks to sell headquarters to pay $500K loan currently in default

The Michigan Republican Party is struggling to stay afloat after failing to pay interest on a loan from Comerica Bank for more than 120 days. Now, the party is contemplating the sale of its headquarters in order to pay off some of its mounting debt.

According to nonprofit online news outlet Bridge Michigan, the Michigan GOP has been in default on a loan of more than $500,000 since December 12. Since then, the loan has accumulated more than $10,000 in interest and nearly $1,000 in late fees.

"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," Comerica Bank wrote in a filing to Ingham County Circuit Court.

In response, Michigan Republican Party chair Kristina Karamo has launched a lawsuit on behalf of the party against both Comerica Bank and the Michigan Republican Party Trust — an entity made up of former state Republican Party chairs that manages the Michigan GOP headquarters building in Lansing — in an effort to regain control of the building and sell it to pay off debt. This all comes as the Mitten State is set to hold its presidential primary in late February.

Karamo, who recently survived a vote by a faction of disgruntled GOP leaders to oust her from her position, has been facing increasing pressure to up her fundraising efforts and restore the state GOP's infrastructure ahead of a pivotal presidential election. In advance of the vote to remove her, Karamo said the effort was "illegal" and that Republicans who wanted her gone were "evil."

Karamo — a 2020 election denier who lost her own race for Secretary of State in 2022 — was elected chair in February of 2023, and she blames the party's debt burden on a financial mess she inherited from her predecessor.

The embattled Michigan GOP chair had a chance to prove her detractors wrong by bringing in a big fundraising haul with the most recent Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, which typically features speeches by major Republican Party figures and is attended by well-heeled GOP donors. However, the 2023 conference was effectively a wash, as the only GOP presidential candidate to attend was Vivek Ramaswamy. Actor and Qanon conspiracy theorist Jim Caviezel was paid more than $100,000 to deliver a 25-minute keynote speech.

Michigan remains one of the must-win swing states for both parties, as its 16 electoral votes (15 in 2024) have helped decide the Electoral College majority in the last two presidential elections. President Joe Biden won the Mitten State in 2020 with 50.6% of the vote, and then-candidate Donald Trump won the state in 2016 with just 47.5% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's 47.3%.