Michigan Republicans in search of unity, momentum after raucous convention

LANSING — Michigan Republicans chose gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon's pick for a running mate via a secret paper ballot and locked in other key nominees Saturday as the party prepares for what could be challenging bids to oust Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats this fall.

But that didn't come without some consternation: Hundreds of the delegates and guests at the Michigan Republican Party Nominating Convention repeatedly booed Michigan GOP Party Chairman Ron Weiser. And the delegates overwhelmingly voted to oust a slate of representatives from Macomb County, something of a rebuke for party leadership.

The party faithful ultimately chose former state lawmaker Shane Hernandez as their nominee for lieutenant governor. After a paper ballot vote of the more than 2,000 delegates, roughly 80% voted in favor of Hernandez, a huge win despite rumblings of a grassroots revolt.

Delegates also affirmed Matthew DePerno and Kristina Karamo as their choices for attorney general and secretary of state, respectively. That choice comes despite DePerno being the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation that alleges he and others working with him to undermine the results of the 2020 election illegally obtained access to voting equipment.

GOP insiders also picked their preferred candidates for Michigan Supreme Court, state board of education and public university boards.

The family squabbles had no bearing on the final outcome of the convention. But that infighting exposed fissures in a party seeking unity heading into a general election against incumbents with substantially more name recognition and money.

"We acknowledge, do not deny, our differences. But we must subordinate those to a far higher and more important cause. And if we can't do that, then we will assure ourselves much difficulty in this election cycle. It's just that simple," said Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

More:Former pastor Ralph Rebandt to seek lieutenant governor nod at GOP convention

More:Tudor Dixon picks Shane Hernandez as running mate in Michigan race for governor

In Michigan, party insiders known as delegates choose the Republican and Democratic nominees for many statewide offices, including attorney general, secretary of state, Michigan Supreme Court and more. Voters pick the party's nominee for governor in a primary, but delegates choose who serves as lieutenant governor.

While there was talk of a so-called grassroots challenge, Hernandez easily earned the party's nod for lieutenant governor. Weiser led the proceedings, operating them in a way that clearly supported Dixon's choice for the nomination.

"Shane has been a legislator for many years. He understands the grassroots fights that we are in, and he stands with us,” DePerno said in nominating Hernandez.

“Shane will bring our brand of conservatism to this state, what we have been fighting for the last year and a half. … He will continue President Trump’s trend of bringing blue-collar union workers and minorities to vote Republican at unprecedented levels.”

Hernandez, who represented Port Huron in the state Legislature for two terms before losing a 2020 congressional primary bid, joined Dixon onstage before delegates voted. He did not speak but was met with plenty of applause.

Then the thousands of delegates cast their ballots, either for or against Hernandez. The process took more than two hours, with Hernandez coasting to the win.

Former gubernatorial candidate Ralph Rebandt said earlier in the week he planned to vie for the lieutenant governor nomination. But his bid fared poorly. Before the event, he suggested he couldn't predict what would happen but that he was optimistic.

Macomb County Republicans fought for months over local leadership, culminating in legal action that ultimately prompted certain delegates to represent the area at the convention. But opponents to those delegates prepared for an ouster, churning up substantially more support than the two-thirds majority needed to supplant the formal delegation.

Weiser and leadership appeared at times exasperated with the operation, but it did nothing to quell the fervor of the party activists. Saturday afternoon, after the bickering between party insiders and leaders had dragged on for hours, the former Michigan Republican Party executive director tweeted a picture of a dumpster fire.

Earlier Saturday, Karamo and DePerno met with supporters for a fundraiser in Lansing, but did not hold a news conference after the event. CNN reporters caught up with DePerno and repeatedly asked him whether he thought he would be indicted, as recorded by Axios Detroit. DePerno did not respond.

State Rep. Ryan Berman, a Commerce Township Republican who lost to DePerno in the race for attorney general earlier this year, said Saturday his fears of a DePerno candidacy have largely come true. He noted the Michigan Republican Party opted for an endorsement convention in April, earlier than in previous years so that candidates could get a jump-start on fundraising.

That clearly didn't work for DePerno, who may have "squandered" that opportunity, Berman said.

"Like I said, there's a chance maybe he gets disbarred. Maybe there's a criminal indictment, and that wasn't theoretical," Berman said, echoing comments he made before DePerno received the party's endorsement.

"How that resonates with the remainder of the Republican party, Republican voters, independents out there ... what's worse? Sometimes voters say what's the lesser of two evils?"

More:Michigan Democrats, suddenly upbeat, hold nominating convention in Lansing

More:Poll shows Whitmer with double-digit lead over Dixon

Historically, midterm elections favor the party out of power in the White House. Combine that with generally poor approval ratings for President Joe Biden and a sluggish economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Republicans should be poised for gains in Michigan and across the country.

Yet polling consistently shows Dixon, DePerno and Karamo trailing their Democratic opponents. A poll released Friday by Lansing-based research firm EPIC-MRA showed Whitmer up 11 percentage points on Dixon. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson led Karamo by 6 percentage points and Attorney General Dana Nessel led DePerno by 4 percentage points. The DePerno deficit is within the poll's 4 percentage point margin of error, representing the closest race.

"Dixon has the ability to lead the ticket in that direction and the GOP is counting on it," said John Sellek, a Republican political operative and CEO of Harbor Strategic, a Lansing-based public relations firm.

"It can’t start a minute too soon because August has essentially been a wasteland for the GOP as the Democrats enjoy improving prospects at home and nationally."

Whitmer, Benson and Nessel have raked in substantially more campaign dollars than the Republican candidates, millions of which are already dedicated to advertisements the GOP contenders generally can't afford to buy.

Dixon has criticized Whitmer's leadership during the pandemic, pointing to business closures and other decisions. DePerno and Karamo have leaned heavily on unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen, while also criticizing their opponents for the way they operate their offices.

But Whitmer and Nessel have focused lately on access to abortion, pointing to ongoing legal fights they're leading in the state. Dixon and DePerno have both said they oppose abortion rights and do not support exceptions that would allow for an abortion in the event of rape or incest.

There's still time for Republicans to narrow the gap, especially DePerno, who appears to be running a bit closer to Nessel than Dixon and Karamo to their respective opponents. All three of the Republicans are endorsed by ex-President Donald Trump, who still has an outsized influence on the party despite losing Michigan in 2020.

But Sellek said some changes need to happen to make the races more competitive.

"Gov. Whitmer has an astronomical financial advantage and she will need all of it to fend off voter apathy and frustration with the status quo. However, Whitmer has done a good job public relations-wise by moving beyond COVID and instead highlighting her accomplishments, because voters are looking for people who can get something, anything done," Sellek said.

"It has been a tightrope, however. The accomplishments Whitmer is selling, issues like education and child care, are the result of big spending that makes voters squeamish, requiring her to claim she did it all with no new taxes. That’s not the ground Democrats usually spend much time on."

Republicans chose incumbent justice Brian Zahra and Kalamazoo attorney Paul Hudson for the party's Michigan Supreme Court nominees. Tami Carlone and Linda Lee Tarver, both of whom have falsely suggested the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, were chosen as the party's picks for the state school board.

The party will host a celebration for their candidates later Saturday, outside the Michigan State Capitol. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin planned to join Dixon and other Michigan GOP candidates in speaking at the event.

Contact Dave Boucher: at dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan GOP seeks unity, momentum after at times rowdy convention