'The state party is dead': Michigan Republicans fear collapse amid leadership crisis

Republicans fear they are on the brink of ceasing to be viable as a party in the state of Michigan following a series of leadership controversies and bad publicity, reported The Hill on Wednesday.

"The state party is facing a slew of negative headlines painting a picture of warring factions in dire financial straits. Last week, reports surfaced that an alleged fight broke out between allies of the party’s new chair, Kristina Karamo, and her former opponent for the position, Matthew DePerno," the report said.

"On top of that, Karamo has faced criticism of her own from both inside and outside the GOP for a number of remarks, including for comparing gun control restrictions to the treatment of Jewish people during the Holocaust."

Karamo, who refused to concede her loss in last year's secretary of state election, has promoted QAnon conspiracy theories and believes that various pop singers are literally in league with Satan. DePerno, meanwhile, is an election denier who has compared contraceptive drugs to fentanyl.

All of this comes after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cruised to re-election last year — and as an open Senate seat in 2024 has yet to draw notable Republican talent.

And through all this, the divisions in the Michigan GOP are coming to blows, said the report. "Last week, video surfaced of a confrontation that turned physical between Kalamazoo Republican Party Chair Kelly Sackett, a DePerno ally, and Macomb County GOP Secretary Melissa Pehlis, a Karamo ally. According to Bridge Michigan, the two local party officials were clashing over an alleged move by Sackett to remove Karamo backers from the Kalamazoo Republican Party. The incident allegedly took place at a hotel bar the night before a Michigan GOP leadership summit, and local police were called."

“I think the rifts are deep and it’s going to become increasingly problematic,” said former Michigan GOP executive director Jason Cabel Roe. “What they should do and what they are doing are two different things. Obviously, you want to unite under a common banner, but right now there’s no faction within the party that’s particularly interested in uniting.”

Former GOP Congressman Dave Trott, who recently opened up about why Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is struggling to get endorsements from his former colleagues, put it more bluntly: “I think the state party is dead.”