'Don’t know how this is going to end': Michigan GOP chair sued by her fellow Republicans

Disgruntled members of the Michigan Republican Party are now suing chairwoman Kristina Karamo in a bid to take back control of the financially insolvent party, with its primary just roughly one month away.

MLive reported Friday that the lawsuit — filed by what the publication dubbed a "breakaway faction" of Republicans — seeks to have a judge rule that a previous vote to remove Karamo as chair was proper, and to install former co-chair Melinda Pego as the new acting chair of the state party.

"[Karamo] has brazenly and repeatedly asserted that she continues to occupy the role of chair of the committee, causing significant confusion among elected precinct delegates and the county Republican organizations throughout Michigan who rely on guidance from the committee on matters of critical importance to our state and country," the lawsuit read.

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The vote the lawsuit refers to happened at a January 6 of the Michigan GOP, in which 40 state committee members (a little over a third of total members) voted to oust Karamo and replace her with Pego as acting chair. Karamo called a meeting of her own the following week and was able to win 55% support from 107 Michigan GOP state committee members to remain in her position.

Karamo — an election denier who ran a failed campaign for Michigan secretary of state in 2022 — may end up counter-suing, as MLive reported that her staff sent cease-and-desist letters to the rogue members of the party accusing them of defamation, libel and slander, and for falsely using Michigan GOP letterhead.

"I don’t know how this is going to end up. I have no idea," Pego told fellow Republicans at a recent GOP meeting in rural Muskegon. "All I know is that I believe I'm standing in the foot of righteousness and standing up for all of those people."

Karamo's tenure as chair of the Michigan GOP, which began in February 2023, has been rife with chaos and infighting as the party's financial health has slowly declined. Comerica Bank recently sent a default notice to the party headquarters in Lansing, claiming it had not made any payments on a loan in excess of $500,000 for more than four months. Karamo is currently hoping to sell the GOP headquarters building as a means of paying off some of the party's considerable debt. Michigan's presidential primary is slated for February 27.

READ MORE: Debt-ridden Michigan GOP seeks to sell headquarters to pay $500K loan currently in default