For Donald J. Trump’s Republican supporters in Michigan, it appeared to be a crowning moment: the state party chose two candidates backed by the former president, both outspoken preachers of 2020 election falsehoods, as their contenders for the state’s chief law enforcement officer and his head of electoral administration.
But instead, the move at a convention this past weekend — where Republicans officially endorsed Matthew DePerno as attorney general and Kristina Karamo as secretary of state — split Michigan’s Republican Party. After months of tension, things finally seem to be snapping as remnants of the old guard protest against the party’s direction.
This week, Tony Daunt, an influential figure in Michigan politics with close ties to the influential DeVos family donor network, resigned from the GOP’s state committee in a heated letter, calling Trump “a deranged narcissist.” Major donors to the State party indicated that they would direct their money elsewhere. And one of Mr. Trump’s staunchest defenders in the state legislature was kicked out of the House Republican group.
The rejection of the party’s vote-busting wing by other Michigan Republicans represents rare public opposition from conservatives to Mr Trump’s attempts to force candidates across the country to back his claims of a rigged vote in 2020. That stance has become a litmus test for GOP politicians up and down as Mr Trump expands his list of more than 150 endorsements this election cycle.
But some Republicans in Michigan and beyond fear a unique, backward-looking focus on the 2020 election is a lost message for the party in November.
“Rather than distance themselves from this undisciplined loser,” Mr. Daunt wrote in his resignation letter, “far too many Republican ‘leaders’ have chosen to encourage his delusional lies – and, worse still – to cynically appease him, even though they know that they are lies is the easiest way to secure their power, the consequences of the general election be damned.
“Whether it’s misguided true faith, cynical cowardice, or just plain old crooks and greed,” Mr. Daunt continued in the letter, which was addressed to a Republican colleague, “it’s a losing strategy and I can’t be on the board of one.” Party serve party too stupid to see.”
Mr. Daunt’s resignation shocked party insiders in Michigan, in part because of his close ties to Dick and Betsy DeVos, prominent conservative donors who often acted as kingmakers in state Republican politics and mobilized millions of dollars through its political arm, Michigan Freedom fund. Ms. DeVos served in Mr. Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of Education.
Jeff Timmer, a former Michigan Republican Party leader and critic of Mr. Trump, said of Mr. Daunt’s letter, “That he makes such a move shows where their mindset is.” Mr. Timmer added, “It seems highly unlikely that he would do this and tell them later when they read it in the press.”
A Michigan Freedom Fund spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. But some people within the DeVos network have also expressed frustration with the state party’s direction, though they still want Republicans to do well in November, according to two people who spoke to donors connected to the network are, and who have insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.
In an interview Thursday morning, Mr Trump denied that a sustained focus on the 2020 election could hurt Republicans in November.
“I think it’s good for the general election because it made people very angry to go out and vote,” he said. He declined to say whether he would financially support Mr. DePerno or Ms. Karamo, though he praised Mr. DePerno as a “bulldog” and called Ms. Karamo “magnetic.”
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Mr. Trump declined to comment on the DeVos network, saying only of Ms. DeVos, who served in his administration: “She was fine, but the one I really liked in this family was the father, who was in the essentially the founder.” (Ms. DeVos’ father, Richard M. DeVos, who died in 2018, was also a major Republican donor.)
Recent campaign finance reports for the state party show that some major donors have postponed their donations.
“A lot of the traditional donors just walked away,” said John Truscott, a Republican strategist in Michigan. “I don’t know how it survives in the long term.”
By the end of 2021, direct donations of more than $25,000 to Michigan Republicans had declined, according to campaign finance reports. The money the party raised included $175,000 in November from Ron Weiser, the party’s mega-donor leader.
Mr. Weiser, who drew criticism last year when he joked about the killing of two Republican congressmen who voted to impeach Mr. Trump, reportedly gave the party at least $1.3 million for the cycle.
In an email on Wednesday, Gustavo Portela, a spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party, said it was financially healthy, citing the generosity of Mr. Weiser, who said he was committed to “giving and collecting the money from.” which we believe is necessary to win in November.”
But the names of other prolific donors, such as Jeffrey Cappo, a car dealership magnate and philanthropist, did not appear in the late 2021 reports.
Mr. Cappo said Wednesday that he had found other ways to give Republicans money.
“Our political state,” said Mr. Cappo, “is more dysfunctional than ever.”
He said of Mr. Trump, “I think the guy really, really cared about him, but he cares about himself more than anyone else.”
Republican divisions had been growing for weeks before the state party convention last weekend. And frustration with Meshawn Maddock, a state party leader with close ties to Mr. Trump, boiled over as she endorsed candidates including Mr. DePerno and Ms. Karamo before Congress.
Mr. DePerno, an attorney who has challenged the Antrim County election results, has pledged to investigate “all fraud in this election,” including investigations by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel to Democrats.
Ms Karamo rose to prominence after serving as an election worker who questioned the state’s 2020 results, arguing she had witnessed fraud. Her claims were later refuted, but she quickly rose to prominence in conservative circles.
When Mr. DePerno and Ms. Karamo nearly got their nominations, it wasn’t through a traditional party primary. Michigan instead nominates many statewide offices through a congressional system in which party activists serve as “district chairs” and vote on the nomination.
The campaigners for Ms. Karamo and Mr. DePerno did not respond to requests for comment.
Amid the aftermath of Congress, Matt Maddock, a Republican state representative who Mr Trump had backed to become Speaker next year, was pushed out of the Republican faction of the House of Representatives this week.
A spokesman for Jason Wentworth, the current State House Speaker and Republican, confirmed in an email Wednesday that Mr. Maddock had been “removed” from the Republican caucus. He declined to give a reason, saying he was not authorized to discuss internal matters. A membership page for Mr. Maddock had been removed from the Michigan House Republican website.
Mr Maddock’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Ms. Maddock, a leader of the Michigan Republican Party and wife of Mr. Maddock.
The Maddocks have been vocal supporters of Trump-aligned Republican candidates before Congress, including some Republican challengers to incumbents in the Legislature.
“When you’re on a team, you can’t expect the benefit of being on that team while also trying to bring down your teammates,” said James Bolger, a former Michigan House Republican speaker. “So it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect him to stay on this team while he’s actively facing off against his teammates.”
Mr. Maddock’s removal from the House Republican caucus will not hurt his chances of re-election, but it will make it harder for him to raise money and maintain influence. Of course, outside funding from groups aligned with Mr. Trump could help offset fundraising losses for Mr. Maddock, the state party, or other candidates aligned with the former president.
Despite the chaos, veteran Michigan Republicans are still optimistic about the upcoming election, assuming the party’s message changes.
“We need to get back to issues, principles and people empowerment and move away from division and personalities,” Bolger said, “and we definitely need to focus on 2022 and not 2020.”