big rapids — Donald Trump’s preferred candidates, Matt DePerno for attorney general and Kristina Karamo for secretary of state, won the endorsement of Michigan Republican Party delegates on Saturday, cementing the former president’s control over a swinging GOP.
DePerno, a Kalamazoo attorney, won the party’s endorsement after a runoff election, while Karamo, an Oak Park educator, won the nod for secretary of state in the first round of voting.
DePerno won 54% of the delegates in the second ballot after falling short of the required 50% in the first round. He was locked in a close and contentious race with former House Speaker Tom Leonard of DeWitt, who got 46% on the second ballot.
“We have a great slate of candidates,” Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser said as he stood onstage with Karamo and DePerno.
Leonard released a statement Saturday night that did not mention DePerno amid questions about whether the party will unite for general election campaigns against Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
“In the months ahead, I will continue to work with my Republican colleagues to elect conservative candidates from all walks of life,” Leonard said. “I especially look forward to spending more time with my wife and our two wonderful children.”
State Representative Ryan Berman, R-Commerce Township, placed third in the first round of voting for attorney general and was left off the ballot for the second round. He supported Leonard and was working with delegates on the convention floor with the former House Speaker before the second ballot.
“Tom has a history of service to our Constitution and will bring a winning, conservative message to Michigan voters,” Berman said in a statement sent to delegates. “Tom is our best chance to fire (Democratic Attorney General) Dana Nessel, and conservatives should rally behind him.”
Walking the convention floor after the first ballot, Berman told delegates he didn’t think DePerno could win the November election against Nessel, who defeated Leonard by less than 3 percentage points in 2018. Berman said he asked address the full convention. , but the leadership of the Michigan Republican Party rejected it.
Karamo, an educator from Oak Park, got 67% of the vote in her three-way race for secretary of state on the first ballot. State Rep. Beau LaFave of Iron Mountain received 19% and Chesterfield City Clerk Cindy Berry 13%.
After winning, party leaders allowed Karamo to speak from the stage and urged delegates to endorse DePerno as attorney general.
“To continue my fight, I need your help right now. I need you in the runoff to support Matt DePerno for attorney general,” Karamo told the crowd.
Weiser privately encouraged Leonard to drop his bid for attorney general and run for Congress, after Trump endorsed DePerno, as The Detroit News first reported two weeks ago. In mid-March, the co-chairman of the Michigan Republican Party Meshawn Maddock endorsed DePerno for attorney general.
When the second round of voting began, there was temporary confusion and voting was stopped. The order of races shown on giant screens at the convention did not match the order of races on voting machines, party officials said.
PLUS: How Ballot Concerns Delayed the Second Vote at the Michigan Republican Convention
Many Republicans at the convention noted that this confusion occurred at a time when the party is making electoral integrity a major issue.
The attorney general race is seen as a key contest to help shape the party’s future and reveal the extent of Trump’s influence.
Trump tried to bolster DePerno’s campaign by visiting Macomb County for a rally on April 2 and holding a phone town hall event over the past week. DePerno rose to fame by spearheading litigation to challenge election results in County Antrim in northern Michigan.
Robert Wiley of Petoskey, an alternate delegate to the convention, supported DePerno and Karamo.
Wiley argued Saturday before the vote that the media had not raised concerns about adequate coverage of the 2020 election. Trump lost the election to Democrat Joe Biden by 154,000 votes, or 3 percentage points. Wiley labeled Trump as the leader of the Republican Party.
“If they don’t win, I probably won’t say a word the whole way home,” Wiley said. “I will be very disappointed, very sad.”
During a telephone town hall Wednesday, the former president described the Republican race for attorney general as “one of the most important races” in the country.
“This election is not just about 2022,” Trump said. “This is about ensuring that the state of Michigan cannot be stolen from the Republicans in 2024 or ever again.
“Matt will stop him. Tom won’t. He doesn’t have the ability to stop him. And he had his chance, and he refused to do it. And people were shocked.”
US Rep. Lisa McClain, a Republican from Bruce Township, spoke out in support of DePerno on Saturday, saying Trump had called her out on him. Trump asked her for a “favor,” she said, without identifying what the specific favor was.
“We need Matt DePerno because we need someone who, like you, is a fighter, who fights for electoral integrity, who fights for our children, who fights for this state and who doesn’t back down,” McClain Trump said. Tell her.
The winner of the Republican nomination, which will become official in August, will face Nessel in November.
US Representative Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, spoke in support of Leonard at the convention on Saturday.
“We will only win if we present our best candidates. When it comes to the next attorney general, I have no doubt that Tom Leonard is that candidate,” Bergman said.
A victory for DePerno will be seen as a victory for Trump. A victory for Leonard could be a sign that his influence has waned at least a little within the Michigan Republican Party.
In the race for Secretary of State, Karamo was victorious.
LaFave welcomed delegates as they entered DeVos Place on Saturday morning. He has argued that Karamo will not be able to win over swing voters in the general election and will not be able to defeat Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
“We may or may not have someone who can win against Dana Nessel and Jocelyn Benson,” LaFave said.
Like DePerno, Karamo also drew attention by making unproven claims of fraud regarding the 2020 election. Trump’s loss in Michigan has been confirmed by more than 200 audits, a series of court rulings and a Committee investigation. of Oversight of the state Senate controlled by the Republican Party.
GOP delegates will also endorse candidates for the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the University of Michigan Board of Regents and the State Board of Education. In each contest, there are four candidates competing for two nominations.
For the MSU board, the candidates are Travis Menge, Melanie Foster, Rick Wendorf and Mike Balow. For the UM board, the candidates are Lauren Hantz, Sevag Vartanian, Andrea Fischer Newman and Lena Epstein.
For the State Board of Education, the candidates are Linda Lee Tarver, Michelle Frederick, Richard Zeile and Tamara Carlone.
Reference-www.detroitnews.com