GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For months, the Michigan Republican Party has been plagued by uncertainty surrounding its leadership.
On Tuesday, Kent County Circuit Court Judge J. Joseph Rossi said Kristina Karamo was properly removed at the meeting on Jan. 6, and that she can no longer call herself chairperson of the MIGOP.
Karamo announced Thursday that she will be taking that decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals, to see if they will consider re-evaluating the preliminary injunction issued.
Within a few hours of that announcement, the appeals court issued a preliminary decision in the case, saying in a court filing that they will be taking up the case and looking at the decision issued by Judge Rossi.
Former Congressman Pete Hoekstra is now recognized as chair of the party, and has the support of former President Trump and the RNC.
But as the legal battles continue, Hoeskstra isn't wasting any time stepping into his role.
In a one-on-one interview Thursday, Hoekstra made it clear that his focus is on electing Republicans up and down the ballot come November.
Election Day in Michigan brought not one but two victories for Pete Hoekstra and Donald Trump.
Trump's primary victory in Michigan was punctuated by Hoekstra's victory in court.
On Tuesday, the former president called into the watch party hosted by the MIGOP to thank his supporters and offer his own congratulations to Hoekstra.
"This was a great day, and Pete, congratulations; you'll be a great chairman, one of the best ever," said Trump.
In that phone call, Trump also made it clear that the task in front of them is to win on Nov. 5, and Hoekstra is hitting the ground running.
"We're focused on the election; the job of the state party is to help our candidates, win elections and to frame the issues, and that's what we're working on," says Hoekstra.
Hoekstra says it's not the person but the issues that will dominate the ballot.
"It is Donald Trump. So there will obviously be some personality drama. But at the at the end of the day, it's about inflation, cost of groceries, cost of gas; it's going to be about security, safety."
When asked about Trump's ongoing legal battles, he doubled down.
"I think that's going to have minimal if any impact," explains Hoekstra. "People back home aren't fixated on that."
President Trump won the Michigan primary on Tuesday with 68% of the vote, earning him 12 of the 16 delegates up for grabs.
Now, Michigan Republicans look to the caucus in Grand Rapids on Saturday, where they'll determine who gets the remaining 39 delegates.
But, before Hoekstra took over, Kristina Karamo scheduled the convention to be in Detroit. While it's unclear what will happen on the east side, Hoekstra says Karamo and her supporters are still more than welcome.
His plan for moving forward focuses on rebuilding and reuniting a party that's been hit by leadership and financial problems.
His starting point?
"Phone calls, phone calls, and present the agenda," says Hoekstra
Once again, the reason Michigan has both a primary election and a caucus goes back to a compromise made with the Republican National Committee after earlier last year, Michigan state lawmakers moved the primary date to Feb. 27. That earlier date violated RNC rules.
FOX 17 will have full coverage of Saturday's caucus both on air and online.
