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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MIGOP chair appears open to primaries for attorney general, secretary of state
MIGOP Chairman state Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, center, and state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, right, discuss the future of the Michigan Republican Party Chad Livengood of The Detroit News during the third day of the Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) MACKINAC ISLAND – Michigan GOP Chair Jim Runestad says he is open to the idea of selecting nominees for attorney general and secretary of state through statewide primaries. Currently, the candidates are selected by delegates at each party's convention. 'I think the base of the party likes the idea of being able to have input in these statewide positions,' said Runestad, a state senator from White Lake. State Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) expressed a similar sentiment but added that he sees value in the type of grassroots activists conventions bring out. Runestad and Posthumus spoke during a discussion on the future of the Michigan Republican Party at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday. Runestad was selected to lead the Michigan Republican Party in February. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said the party had about $800,000 of debt when he first took over, but said he has raised $500,000 since taking over. 'We're vanquishing that debt,' Runestad said. 'I think by year's end, we're going to get most of that down, and into next year, at the end of this term, we certainly will have no debt.' Runestad said he has vowed to ensure the party has a 'big' fund balance by the end of his term – even if means denying requests for a last-minute spending spree in the run-up to the election. 'We're going to raise the money, we're going to spend the money, but whether it's me or someone else, we're not going to leave that for the next person,' Runestad said. He said the party has been undergoing a rebuilding process following several years of dramatic internal politics. 'We are on a growth spurt,' Runestad said. 'We have changed everything that was done in the past in terms of the email system, the domain system, the website. We are changing absolutely everything from what it was before into a completely new party.'
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hertel elected to lead Michigan Democrats into crucial 2026 midterms
Former state Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, after being elected to chair the party. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Democrats elected former state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. (D-East Lansing) to lead their party as efforts begin to rebuild after President Donald Trump won the state in 2024. Hertel, who succeeds Lavora Barnes after she declined to seek another term as chair, was elected by voice vote Saturday at the party's convention in Detroit following the decision by Al Williams, his only opponent, to drop out. The MIGOP held their convention a few blocks away, where they elected state Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) in an upset victory over Trump-endorsed candidate Meshawn Maddock. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2026, asked the packed room of Democrats to remember how they felt after Trump's win in 2016 – and how that translated into major gains for Democrats in 2018 and 2022. 'We fought back and we won, and we've expanded rights and freedoms in our state,' Benson said. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, who has reportedly also been considering a bid for the state's top office, alluded to the possibility of launching a campaign, saying that engineers don't wait to solve problems, they just get to work. 'I've been told to wait before. I hate it,' Gilchrist said. 'Some people told me to wait to run for office. Some people want me to wait right now.' Gilchrist quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., saying that 'wait has almost always meant never.' Benson touted her reforms to Secretary of State offices throughout the state and said she would focus on 'eliminating red tape, cutting wasteful spending and making government efficient for all – which, by the way, you can do, Elon Musk, without tearing everything apart.' While U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) touted the fact that she carried a district Trump won by a wider margin than he received, she said Democrats shouldn't put an overly rosy spin on things. 'What people want me to say is, 'It's going to be okay, and here's why.' It's not going to be okay,' McDonald Rivet said. 'It's not. People that we know and love are going to be hurt.' But the party is already working to oppose actions by the Trump administration, speakers emphasized Saturday. That includes more than 80 lawsuits throughout the country, with U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit) saying that Democrats are 'suing the hell' out of the Trump administration. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) said Democrats need to spend the next several months doing five things: 'Litigate, legislate, educate, advocate, communicate.' 'I'm losing my voice, because I haven't stopped raising it since he became president,' Dingell said as her voice cracked. Most importantly, McDonald Rivet said, Democrats have to win elections. The party is gearing up for a crucial midterm election cycle in which Michigan will have open races for U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state and attorney general, and every seat in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature will be up for grabs. McDonald Rivet said that she was able to win a Trump-voting district because her campaign 'relentlessly focused on the things that unite all of us.' 'We want lower costs and good paying jobs, a pathway to the middle class for everybody willing to work for it and a world-class education for all of our kids,' McDonald Rivet said. 'When we did that, when we focused on that, Donald Trump may have won our district by two, but we won by seven.' Hertel said that key issues for Democrats to focus on will include fair wages, affordable housing, water affordability and ballot access. 'If we are not that party, that party will not exist in this country,' Hertel said. Former state Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, after being elected to chair the party. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Former state Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, after being elected to chair the party. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, as members of the state Senate stand behind her. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, as members of the state House of Representatives stand behind him. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Former state Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, after being elected to chair the party. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025, as members of the state Senate stand behind her. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, takes the stage at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Al Williams speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. Williams dropped out of the race to lead the party, leaving former state Sen. Curtis Hertel as the sole candidate. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, takes the stage at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Al Williams speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. Williams dropped out of the race to lead the party, leaving former state Sen. Curtis Hertel as the sole candidate. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan state Rep. Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes speaks at the party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes at the party's convention in Detroit on Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to expect as Republicans and Democrats meet in Detroit this weekend to select new party chairs
Michigan Democratic Party convention, Feb. 2, 2019 at Cobo Hall in Detroit | Ken Coleman On Saturday, members of the Michigan Democratic Party and the Michigan Republican Party will meet to, among other things, select their next chair to lead the party heading into 2026. At the MIGOP convention, being held at Huntington Place in Detroit, members will select their next chair from three candidates: former party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, State Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and Joe Cella, who served as ambassador to Fiji during President Donald Trump's first term. While Republican Consultant Scott Greenlee previously placed his hat in the ring, he has since dropped out, giving Maddock his endorsement. Members of the Democratic Party, meeting at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, will choose between former state Sen. Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing) and community organizer Al 'BJ' Williams, with the former chair of the party's Rural Caucus, Mark Ludwig, dropping his bid to run as second vice chair on the slate for the Michigan Solidarity Coalition. While Republicans were able to win control of the House in 2024, they will need to defend that majority during the next election cycle as all 110 seats are back on the ballot. The 38 seats of the Michigan state Senate — which is currently led by Democrats — will also be on the ballot alongside the governorship as each party vies to reclaim control of the Legislature and the executive office. Additionally, with U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) opting against seeking reelection in 2026, Michigan will likely see another highly competitive Senate race, while several members of the U.S. House aim to defend their own battleground districts. With current MIGOP chair Pete Hoekstra departing to serve as President Donald Trump's ambassador to Canada, Maddock has emerged as a favorite, including among attendees at a forum held in Berrien County, winning 66.7% of the straw poll vote among the 60 participants. Runestad received 23.3%, while Greenlee won 8.3% and Cella placed last with 1.7% of the vote. Maddock, who is married to state Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford), is a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump and is one of the 15 people facing charges as part of the fake electors scheme which aimed to falsely deliver Michigan's electoral votes for Trump in the 2020, despite his loss to former President Joe Biden. Maddock previously served as the party's co-chair alongside chair Ron Weiser from 2021 to 2023. Runestad is serving his second term in the state Senate after serving four years in the Michigan House of Representatives. He was previously ranked as one of the state's most conservative senators and has touted his effort to combat undocumented immigration as an Oakland County commissioner by implementing the federal E-Verify program used to determine if employees are eligible to work in the United States. In addition to serving as ambassador to Fiji, Cella served as the Catholic liaison for Trump's 2016 campaign, as well as a member of his transition team. Heading into Saturday, GOP Strategist Jason Roe said Republicans want to see a leader who can take advantage of the opportunities Republicans have in 2026. While there won't be a huge difference from Hoekstra as far as stewardship of the party, the most important thing is having a leader the Republican National Committee can trust, said Roe, who previously served as the party's executive director. 'I think with any of these three, you will get that,' Roe said. However, there will be some questions about what each candidate can do for fundraising, as many donors have checked out following the chaos of the 2020 election, Roe said. 'I think with Meshawn you have someone that probably animates the grassroots more. You have in Joe Cella someone who probably has more confidence from the traditional Republican donors. And you have in Runestad someone who's been a very effective partisan in Lansing and, you know, brings kind of this fighting attitude to the job. So it's three different styles, three different backgrounds, but you know, I think any of the three can do that most important job, which is working with the National Committee on the priorities of the state,' Roe said. Looking into 2026, moving money will be crucial for the party chair, Roe said, with the Republican Governors Association, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Party all looking for a trusted partner. 'My back of the envelope [calculation] is that we're going to spend probably somewhere in the neighborhood of seven to $800 million on elections between the two parties, given everything that's going on. So there's going to be just this huge inflow of money into the state, and a lot of that is going to travel through the Michigan Republican Party and so those organizations need to know that they can trust the leadership of the party,' said Roe. However, fidelity to Trump may be more important among the state's delegates, Roe said, adding that while Maddock likely has the strongest claim to that mantle, both Runestad and Cella have very legitimate relationships with the Trump administration. 'What has changed a lot over the last several years since Trump's ascendancy is that party activists have been less focused on what it takes to win elections and more focused on fidelity to Donald Trump. And now, if fidelity to Donald Trump is the only factor, the party is not going to be as effective as it can be,' Roe said. 'The party is there, not to enforce an agenda, it is there to win elections. That's the job. And so, you know, hopefully the delegates are focused on what it takes to win the job. There shouldn't be a debate on if any of these three is going to be loyal to the Trump agenda,' Roe said. While Maddock does animate the grassroots members of the party, Roe noted that most activists work on behalf of candidates, not the party. 'The next party chair should have an effective plan for advocacy, going door to door, phone banks, etc, and for get out the vote and absentee [ballot] chase programs. So it's less that the party is going to be able to inspire people to go do the work, it's more that the party is building an effective apparatus, yeah, for the work, and then the candidates typically provide the bodies that fuel this,' Roe said. While the party was previously on unstable ground, with members of the party voting to oust former Chair Kristina Karamo, sparking legal action and much debate over whether she's been properly ousted, Hoekstra has put the party back together with duct tape and spit, Roe said. However, while the state party is not leaking, they don't quite know how afloat they are, Roe said. 'Michigan is going to be one of, probably top three battlegrounds in the country. I think there's going to be a lot of aggressive involvement from the Republican National Committee and the Trump White House, you know, two assets that weren't really in place in the same way in the past,' Roe said. 'I think no matter who wins, we're going to have stability in the organization,' he said. With Lavora Barnes, who has served as the Michigan Democratic Party chair since 2018 deciding not to seek reelection, Dems must search for new leadership to help carry the party through the next election cycle. Alongside serving in the Michigan State Senate from 2015 through 2022, Hertel served as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's legislative director before resigning to run for U.S. House in Michigan's 7th Congressional district. However, Hertel was ultimately unsuccessful, winning 46.6% of the vote against his former Senate colleague, now U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), who received 50.3% of the vote. On his website campaigning for chair, Williams touts his 25 years of experience in political leadership and advocacy. He founded Vote Smart Detroit, a voter registration and education initiative targeting Detroit Public School students, co-founded and served as a chartering board member of both the party's grassroots caucus and the cannabis caucus. Williams also served as the executive director of United Precinct Delegates, which trains and supports precinct delegates to serve as a bridge between the Democratic Party and their community. While each candidate carries their own personal platform, Paul Kanan, president of the Kanan Company who previously served as the party's press secretary and communications director, said the biggest issue moving into this convention will be rebuilding or solidifying the party's grassroots, urban and rural presence. Fortunately, that infrastructure already exists in the party's Project 83, Kanan said, launched after Trump's victory in 2016 to place a greater focus on local parties and candidates alongside local leadership and grassroots support in all 83 of Michigan's Counties. If the party can get back to the place where it was in 2018 — where Democrats won both the Governorship, the Attorney General's Office and the Secretary of State — that is where the party would like to be, Kanan said. 'Not just in terms of electoral victory, but the infrastructure and the atmosphere and the energy all in that particular timeframe,' Kanan said. While Williams has an extensive record of working with folks on the ground as an activist, Hertel comes from politics and knows the people and the community he serves, alongside holding relationships from his time in government, Kanan said. Neither candidate just wants the job, they're both passionate about it, Kanan said. The three most important things for either candidate is their relationships, the desire to serve as chair and support for their platforms, Kanan said. 'What's going to be most important is how the general electorate of the party decides who will be able to be most effective in that. Whose relationships combination is going to best serve the party and acknowledging that the other individual who receives less votes is still a valuable partner,' Kanan said. Regardless of who wins, party leadership will need to have a conversation with the individuals who also ran and those who ran for other positions in order to find a common vision for the party, Kanan said. 'What is our framework, what is our narrative, our branding that we can all get behind and move forward together, rather than having issues that we all want to address divide us because we don't feel one is doing more than the other,' Kanan said. Serving as a bridge between the national party and the county and local parties is also crucial, Kanan said. While that infrastructure already exists, it's a matter of rejuvenating those inroads and having year-round conversations rather than having members parachute into Detroit or pay lip service to Northern Michigan, Kanan said. The conversation has to include everyone, Kanan said, noting that the state party under previous chair Brandon Dillon and under Barnes had asserted itself as a strong state party focused on Michigan voters and Michigan issues. 'I think that's what's really important. To have your organizers on the ground, your regional organizers talking directly to your senior staff with the party,' Kanan said. Looking into 2026, the party needs to have a team that can hit the ground running and play things right down the middle when it comes to primaries, Kanan said. 'One of the main tenets of both of the previous chairs was 'we don't pick sides until the side is decided by Democrats,'' Kanan said, noting that neutrality will be critical while working to provide resources and amplify all Democratic candidates. 'They're going to decide the mood, the atmosphere and the type of races these candidates will be able to run because they're going to want to be able to look to the party and say, 'Okay, I know whether I win or lose right now the party's got my back.' So that way, when the time comes, those races are decided, you have your election candidates, they can still count on their fellow Democrats, who are no longer opponents,' Kanan said. All Democrats and candidates, registered or not, need to have an on-ramp to the conversation and an off-ramp from where they were, Kanan said. 'The key is to be not just a welcoming party, but a party that says 'you are going to work with us. We are going to work for you, and together, we are going to bring the Democratic Party back to the people,'' Kanan said. Over the past year, the renomination of former President Joe Biden in the 2024 election amid Israel's war on Gaza created divisions within both the state and national party, as members of the 'Uncommitted' movement sought to pressure the Biden-Harris administration to bring about a ceasefire and end weapons transfers to Israel. Some members of the Uncommitted movement eventually transformed into an Abandon Biden campaign, and then later Abandon Harris when then-Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris ended up losing Michigan to Trump by less than 80,000 votes out of more than five million that were cast. The movement has since prompted a Palestinian-American led group calling itself the People's Coalition to put forth several candidates for positions within the party in hopes of bringing more underrepresented voices to the table, calling attention to issues including housing and immigration. The group's leadership, however, says it is made up of committed Democrats, dedicated to electing other Democrats. While issues like immigration are particularly important, especially at this moment, Democrats need to realize that just because the flame is burning brightest for one issue does not mean that's the issue that needs to be addressed, Kanan said, noting that Democrats need to work to find common ground both within that issue and across others. 'In this haze of destruction that's going on at the moment, it becomes difficult to say, 'Oh, which one is most important?' Well, what's most important is winning. And at the end of the day, the individual who is elected chair, that's what they are there to do. This is a short timeframe. This is not about building the party back up from the ground up,' Kanan said. Michigan is a blue state, despite how previous elections may have blurred those colors, Kanan said, and the infrastructure to make Michigan a blue state remains. 'I think embracing that and then making building that party muscle, again, is key. And the more people that are with the next Democratic Party, if you will, the stronger it's going to be,' Kanan said. It can't be a matter of 'this should have been done, this isn't done,' it should be 'what do we have to do,' Kanan said. While nobody will get everything they want, those conversations are just as important to satisfying folks, he said. 'I think when people feel heard, they're more likely to have a conversation,' Kanan said. When asked how division over Israel and Palestine might influence the upcoming party convention, Kanan noted that people were not able to have those conversations during the previous party convention. 'People were not able to have real conversations, primarily because it literally is an ongoing issue where the party in the White House cannot discuss what's actually going on, which does allow the other side, you know, to fill in what they want folks to hear,' Kanan said. 'To be clear, though, is the Michigan Democratic Party, and we have a very strong and robust Arab Muslim community, and they should have a voice. And they do have a voice, clearly,' Kanan said. 'I think what's important is to say, this is where we stood then. We see what happened. We know certain people made decisions that they probably regret. We don't need to punish them. We need to give them the off-ramp to say, 'Come home. Let's fight back together. Let's win this back again together,' Kanan said. 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Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan GOP files campaign finance complaint against Secretary of State
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan Republican Party has filed a complaint against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, alleging that her choice of campaign press conference venue violated state election law. Benson formally announced her bid for governor last week in a press conference held in the lobby of the Richard H. Austin Building, a building that houses Secretary of State offices on its fourth floor. The MIGOP alleges that this choice of venue violated Michigan election law and submitted a complaint under of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, which requires that the Secretary of State investigate these allegations. As Benson and her campaign are directly involved, the law also requires that this complaint be referred to the Department of Attorney General. 'We call on the Bureau of Elections to take this complaint seriously and to hold Jocelyn Benson accountable for her flagrant abuses of the public's trust. We also request that the Bureau of Elections enjoin Secretary Benson and her campaign from future violations and fine them the maximum amount permitted by law,' said Tyler Henningsen, Political Director of the Michigan Republican Party. 'The integrity of our public office holders must be maintained, and the misuse of taxpayer-funded resources for personal political gain will not be tolerated.' 6 News attended the aforementioned press conference, and the choice of venue was brought up by those in attendance multiple times. When asked why the conference was held inside instead of out on the steps, Benson replied 'It's cold, so we didn't want you all to stand outside in the hall, so we are in here.' She was then asked if other candidates for office could use the lobby for their press events, to which Benson responded 'Of course.' When an attendee said holding a campaign press conference inside the building had not been permitted before, Benson replied: 'Well that's good to know. It's certainly never come to my attention, but again, this was an effort to make sure that no one's getting frostbite.' A release from the MIGOP says that the Richard H. Austin Building, funded by Michigan Taxpayers is not a space open to all but an office under Benson's control as Secretary of State. However, the Benson campaign released a statement to 6 News contradicting this, saying 'As the Secretary said last Wednesday, the lobby space used is a public space where First Amendment activity can occur as long as it doesn't interfere with the operation of the building. Any candidate is welcome to use it, and anyone saying otherwise is playing a political game.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Meshawn Maddock vows to take on the ‘3 witches ruling our state' as Michigan GOP chair
Former MIGOP Chair Meshawn Maddock nominates J.D. Vance as vice president of the United States during the Dec. 17, 2024 meeting of Michigan's electoral college delegates. | Kyle Davidson Former Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, who is facing felony forgery and conspiracy charges, was the overwhelming favorite in a straw poll Saturday among the four candidates vying to succeed former Ambassador Pete Hoekstra as party chair. The poll, taken among those present at a GOP forum in Southwest Michigan's Berrien County, followed a forum featuring Maddock and the three other candidates: state Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), Republican consultant Scott Greenlee and Joe Cella, former ambassador to Fiji during the first Trump administration. Out of the 60 people who participated, Maddock was the top pick to be chair for 66.7%. Runestad was next at 23.3%, Greenlee polled at 8.3% and then Cella received 1.7%. Maddock, who is married to state Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford), has been a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, who won Michigan for a second time in 2024. That's made Republicans optimistic about their chances to retake the top offices in Michigan in the 2026 election. 'I have the personality to lead because I alone have fought the hostile fake news among all of my opponents the most,' Meshawn Maddock said in her opening statement in which she then compared Democrats in the state to communists. She said as a woman, she was uniquely qualified to take on the 'three witches that are right now ruling our state,' referencing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, all Democrats. Maddock is among 15 people charged by Nessel's office in the 2020 fake electors case, where they stand accused of sending false electoral votes for Trump to the U.S. Senate and National Archives. That case is still pending in court. Maddock's remarks appeared to be a callback to a 2021 comment from her former running mate, former Michigan GOP Chair Ron Weiser. 'I made the decision to continue to serve [as chair] to make sure we have an opportunity to take out those three witches' in 2022, Weiser said during a North Oakland Republican Club meeting, referring to Whitmer, Nessel and Benson. '… Our job now is to soften up those three witches and make sure that when we have good candidates to run against them, that they are ready for the — for the burning at the stake.' Although Weiser received significant criticism, Maddock defended him. During that same meeting, Weiser was asked what should be done about then-U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer (R-Grand Rapids) and Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), who both broke with their party to vote for Trump's second impeachment following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 'Ma'am, other than assassination, I have no other way … other than voting [them] out,' Weiser said at the time. Weiser was also serving as a University of Michigan regent and was censured by the board for his comments. He apologized but refused to resign. Michigan Republicans will decide on a new party chair at their convention Feb. 21 and 22 at Huntington Place in Detroit, after Hoekstra announced his departure to serve as Trump's ambassador to Canada. Runestad established his MAGA bona fides, noting that as an Oakland County commissioner he had helped implement the federal E-Verify program that allows verification whether employees are eligible to work in the United States. 'It broomed out thousands of illegal immigrants out of Oakland County,' he said. 'I was ranked the most conservative there for 10 years. I've been ranked among the most conservative legislators in Lansing.' Greenlee, who ran for party chair in 2023 but lost to former Chair Kristina Karamo, emphasized his experience at all levels of the party, which was notable in the wake of Karamo's ill-fated tenure, which led to charges of bankrupting the party and a forcible removal by committee members in January 2024. 'You're hiring a chief executive officer to oversee the entire party over the next election cycle, and I believe I'm extremely well qualified to do this,' said Greenlee. 'I've served at the county level; I've served at the district level; I've served as a state committee person, a state vice chair. I've been a delegate to national conventions, and I've been part of over 100 winning campaigns ranging from city council races, all the way up to staff roles and gubernatorial races, presidential races.' Cella highlighted his service in the first Trump administration. 'I am uniquely equipped and stand apart from my colleagues in several ways,' he said. 'I am the only one who was chosen by President Trump to serve on his 2016 campaign and then be chosen to serve as a United States ambassador for the United States.' Maddock, as she did throughout the forum, questioned Cella's qualifications to lead the party. 'He was recruited by very powerful forces that want to stop Donald Trump. He was an ambassador for 12 months, and the only reason he became an ambassador is he snuck in through the Mike Pence people,' said Maddock, referring to Trump's vice president in his first term who ran afoul of many Republicans when he refused to participate in Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election win of former President Joe Biden. 'I'm sorry, I've heard you're a really nice guy, but I don't think you should be running for state party chair,' said Maddock. Saturday's forum was moderated by state Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) and state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater), who opened the questions by asking each candidate their plans to improve state party finances. 'We need to talk to the delegates, see what their priorities are, so that it's not just several people in Lansing making individual decisions for things that are going to impact us down here in Berrien County or up in the U.P. [Upper Peninsula] or over in Alpena,' said Greenlee. Greenlee said that would best be accomplished by working with the state committee to make sure the party stays in compliance with its own rules. 'One of the advantages I bring is working in the business of politics has given me an opportunity to know vendors, to see who's charging what to understand market rates, and in doing that, I'll be able to make sure we get every single penny out of every single dollar,' he said. Runestad made the case that money was the lifeblood of the party, and a major transfusion would be needed to keep it moving in the right direction. 'I think we're gonna have a $300,000 to $400,000 debt from what I'm hearing, so you got to raise money right away,' he said, mentioning a recent rule change in which MIGOP chair candidates are each required to make a $15,000 donation to the state party, with no more than $2,500 of their own money. 'I raised that the very next day, six weeks ago,' he said, noting that just the day before, the party's policy committee said only he Cella had met that threshold. 'The other two, six weeks later, still have not raised the money. You're gonna have to raise millions and millions of dollars to keep this thing open,' said Runestad. Maddock immediately rebutted, saying she had raised $16,800 in a single group text to supporters, and then turned the attack back on Runestad. 'This fee is not a difficult fee for any of the four of us to raise, but I also want to remind everybody that Sen. Runstad has been campaigning, probably at more than five events, claiming that he also raised $120,000 in addition to his $15,000, and I can tell you that that $120,000 is not in any bank account at the Michigan Republican Party, so I can only assume it's in some other type of a PAC [political action committee],' she said. Runestad responded to Maddock's accusation by questioning her own fundraising claim. 'What you put in some accounts somewhere else isn't the $15,000 by six different people,' he said. 'I have raised the $15,000. The $100,000 I raised since then, and I'm raising a whole lot more. … The money that was needed to be raised, I raised the next day.' Cella took a more optimistic approach, crediting Hoekstra's leadership with turning the party in the right direction. 'I have to give a hat tip to my former ambassadorial colleague Peter Hoekstra, who slogged through very, very, very difficult work over the course of seven months in what most chairmen have two years to do,' he said. 'So the foundations are poured, the pilings are set to rebuild the Michigan Republican Party and make the Michigan Republican Party great again.' Trump, who endorsed attorney Matt DePerno in the 2023 race for party chair, has yet to offer an endorsement in this year's contest. DePerno is also facing felony charges of tampering with a voting machine. In 2026, Michigan's government will be up for grabs, as Whitmer, Nessel, and Benson are all term-limited, while every seat in the state House and Senate will be on the ballot. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) also is up for reelection. With so much on the line, Maddock questioned Runestad's ability to lead the party. 'I don't know if you know this, but he is planning on continuing to be a full-time state senator and your full-time state party chair. I believe that that is a disservice to the Senate. I think it's kind of insulting to the Senate,' she said. 'We are not gonna win the governor's race back with a part-time chair.' Michigan Democrats will also be deciding on a new party chair at their convention next month at Detroit's Renaissance Center. In the running are former state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. (D-East Lansing), who recently lost his bid for the U.S. House; Michigan Democratic Party Rural Caucus Chair Mark Ludwig; and community organizer Al 'B.J.' Williams. Each is seeking to replace Lavora Barnes, who announced in November she would not seek reelection to the post she had held since 2019. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
