Former President Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in the Michigan Republican caucuses held in Grand Rapids highlights his continued popularity among party delegates.
Trump secured 97.7% of the vote, winning every congressional district, while Nikki Haley trailed with 2.2%. However, Trump’s dominance comes amid a bitter rift in the state GOP over a change in party leadership.
The state party is divided between supporters of former chair Kristina Karamo and the new chair, former congressman Pete Hoekstra.
Trump (Credits: Bloomberg.com)
Some Karamo supporters boycotted the state convention and held their own breakaway caucuses in Houghton Lake and Battle Creek. Despite this, Hoekstra emphasized that these results would not impact the national GOP or the Republican National Convention in July.
Karamo was removed from her position after a tenure marked by infighting and financial difficulties within the party. She initially contested her removal but later abandoned her efforts after a court ruling.
The convention’s location was also a point of contention, with Karamo calling for it to be held in Detroit while Hoekstra moved it to Grand Rapids.
The rift in the state party was evident as Charlevoix County Republican Chair Asuka Barden, from the First District in northern Michigan, was denied a credential to attend the convention in Grand Rapids.
Despite this, Barden expressed her support for Trump and her commitment to representing the members and voters of her county. Trump’s victory in the caucuses adds 39 delegates to his tally, following his win in Michigan’s presidential primary the previous week, where he secured 12 delegates compared to Nikki Haley’s four.
Michigan Republicans adopted a hybrid primary-and-caucus system to avoid losing convention delegates due to a conflict with the national GOP calendar caused by the state law setting the primary date.
