Election-denying Republicans who lost their races for statewide office in Michigan are mounting bids to lead the state GOP.
Kristina Karamo, who lost her race for secretary of state, and failed attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno each announced plans to run for Republican Party chair, while losing gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon says she's also considering a run for state GOP leadership, reported the Associated Press.
"It’s hard to think of a state where Republicans lost more than in Michigan," said GOP consultant Stu Sandler. "The chair could be very important, particularly, because they have no statewide elected official or prominent Republican as a voice, and that’s something that chair could be under the right circumstances."
Sandler said the state GOP hadn't been as active in recent years, but Michigan GOP chief of staff Paul Cordes blamed November's election losses on low-quality candidates and poorly run campaigns.
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"Over the course of this cycle, the Michigan Republican Party operated within the political reality that President Trump was popular amongst our grassroots and a motivating factor for his supporters, but provided challenges on a statewide ballot, especially with independents and women in the midterm election," Cordes wrote.
Dixon blasted Cordes' memo as a "perfect example" of the GOP's problems, but Michigan Republicans worried that election deniers would tie the party even closer to Donald Trump and continue losing general elections.
"There is no way on God’s earth that the donors of the state would entrust a DePerno or Karamo with the resources needed to regain power," said Jamie Roe, a GOP consultant and county delegate. "There will have to be something done outside the traditional structure."