'Notice of default': Chaos plagues Michigan GOP as bank demands $500k loan payment

In Michigan, Republicans responded to some major statewide losses — including Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's double-digit reelection victory in 2022 — not by moving closer to the center, but by moving even further to the right and picking conspiracy theorist Kristina Karamo to head the Michigan GOP. Karamo was recently ousted from that position, although she has refused to accept that vote and insists that she still considers herself Michigan GOP chair.

The Michigan Republican Party has been plagued by financial problems during all this chaos, and according to reporting in Bridge Michigan, it is "in default on a $500,000 loan" from Comerica Bank.

Bridge Michigan's Jonathan Oosting reports that in a January 10 court filing, attorneys for Comerica say that the Michigan GOP has ignored a demand for immediate payment and "been in default for over 120 days."

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Oosting reports, "The bank's renewed notice of default, dated December 12, detailed more than $10,000 in accrued interest and $707 in late fines for missed payments on the $509,009 loan principal. It's the latest evidence of financial struggles for the Michigan GOP, which is mired in a leadership dispute fueled in part by the fundraising woes of Kristina Karamo, who was elected as party chair in February 2023."

According to Oosting, Karamo denies that she is to blame for the Michigan GOP's financial woes.

Oosting explains, "(Karamo) has said she inherited a financial mess and wants to sell the party's former headquarters in Lansing to relieve debt she says was inherited from the administration of her predecessor, Ann Arbor real estate magnate Ron Weiser…. The Michigan GOP last month sued Comerica and the Michigan Republican Party Trust, which includes former party chairs who have managed the building that is formally owned by a separate entity, Seymour Street LLC."

READ MORE: 'Incompetent dumpster fire': GOP leader in key swing state pushed party to 'brink of bankruptcy'

Read Bridge Michigan's full report at this link.