LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Republican Party has about $93,000 in its bank accounts 16 months before the November 2024 presidential election, a revelation GOP insiders said paints an alarming financial picture for a political party that had full control of state government five years ago.
The leadership team of Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Kristina Karamo updated the state GOP committee on the party's budget during a closed-door meeting at the Doherty Hotel in Clare on July 8. The Detroit News obtained a recording of the gathering that one participant described as a "Festivus-style airing of grievances," complete with verbal feuding, a physical altercation and questions about how the party would be able to pay off its debts.
The discussion pulled back the curtain on details of the Michigan Republican Party's finances that would normally remain secret and pointed to continued hesitations among longtime funders to open their wallets. While the party has some accounts that must file public reports on their contributors and expenditures, other accounts never have to, making it difficult to determine how much fundraising has occurred.
“What I will confirm right now is that we have $93,231.90 in our accounts," the state committee's budget chairman, Dan Bonamie, said at one point during the July 8 meeting. "We have not taken loans out. We are working on the debt.”
The party's general counsel, Dan Hartman, volunteered during the state committee meeting that the GOP had previously been "threatened with default" on a loan. But Karamo said the state Republican Party was now working "side by side" with the bank.
Yet, even Karamo, who became the party's leader in February, seemed to acknowledge that the financial situation was problematic.
“Yes, we know we need a lot more money," Karamo told the state committee. "But we have been and will continue to be transparent.”
Karamo and Bonamie didn't immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.
'Functionally bankrupt'
In interviews, former Michigan Republican Party officials described the financial total as troubling, compared with what the state GOP raised in the past and what it takes to fund the party's operations. Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, said $93,000 wouldn't have covered rent, payroll and utilities for a month when he was there from 2005 to 2009.
“That could sound like a lot to the casual observer, but that means they’re functionally bankrupt," Timmer said of the total.
In the past, the state party would have more than a dozen employees by this time in a two-year election cycle, Timmer said. Karamo said last weekend her team had three paid employees, including herself.
Republican Tom Leonard, a former Michigan House speaker who was the state GOP's budget chair in 2009 and 2010, said a successful state party in Michigan needs to raise between $30 million and $40 million each election cycle.
"If the party is serious about winning, they should have between $4 million and $6 million cash on hand," Leonard said of this point a year before the election.
The money is eventually going to be needed to pay staff, finance voter outreach and bankroll Election Day efforts focused on securing the vote, the former House speaker said.
"At this point, any Republican that's going to be on the ballot in 2024 better be looking for resources and organization outside of the Michigan Republican Party," Leonard said.
In comparison, Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, had $105,910 in his leadership political action committee (PAC) on April 20, campaign finance records show. Democrats won control of the state Legislature in November for the first in 40 years.
During the GOP meeting on July 8, Karamo and members of her team didn't detail how much money they've raised or spent this year or how much debt the Michigan Republican Party still faced from the 2022 election, according to two hours of audio recording from the meeting reviewed by The News.
In March, she told a group in Muskegon County the party had $460,000 in debt.
David Robertson, a Republican former state senator, asked Karamo during Saturday's meeting about "hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt."
“Are we going to see a plan to retire the hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt that we currently have?” Robertson asked.
The Michigan GOP has been working on the debt and with the bank, Karamo responded.
'Chaos that was brewing'
Karamo's supporters have contended the financial situation represents a shift away from relying on a small group of large donors to a broader grassroots approach.
As a candidate for party chair, Karamo vowed to "expand the donor pool by creating a decentralized fundraising system that obtains funding from approximately 500,000 likely-Republican business owners, rather than a handful of millionaire/billionaire class political operatives," according to a Dec. 18 "vision" document she released.
But Karamo, a former educator from Oak Park, has been facing increased criticism from inside the Michigan GOP in recent weeks over her handling of the party's finances.
In June, Karamo removed Matt Johnson as the state committee's budget chair, citing "a dereliction of duty and several other grievances." But in a statement, Johnson said disclosed spending by the Michigan Republican Party had been "so far out of proportion with income as to put us on the path to bankruptcy."
Karamo called for a special meeting on July 8 to address the budget and the internal divisions.
During the July 8 meeting, Republicans argued over whether the event should be opened or closed to people who weren't on the state committee, which includes about 100 people. Karamo kept the meeting closed, saying, "This is a party matter that needs to be dealt with in-house."
“Because I saw the chaos that was brewing amongst the party, I decided to call a special meeting,” Karamo told members of the state committee.
A person who spoke at the meeting but wasn't identified described the event as a "Festivus-style airing of grievances," according to the recording.
At one point, Karamo admonished the amount of time Republicans spend on social media.
"Maybe, if you got off social media, we might really beat Democrats," the chairwoman said.
At various points in the discussion, Republican members accused each other of being out of order and leaking confidential information to reporters.
"Who’s running the meeting?" Macomb County Republican Party Chairman Mark Forton yelled at one point, according to the audio recording.
“It’s not you, Forton. Sit down," responded another person who was't identified.
'Somebody was just assaulted'
As first reported by The Detroit News, an altercation broke out between two Republicans at the meeting: Clare County GOP Chairman Mark DeYoung and James Chapman of Wayne County. Chapman was frustrated that he wasn't allowed inside the state committee meeting and accused DeYoung of swinging at him.
DeYoung said Chapman kicked him in the groin and charged at him. Clare police have turned the matter over to the Clare County prosecutor's office to determine whether charges will be brought.
During the meeting, Karamo expressed disbelief that a physical altercation had occurred, according to the audio recording.
"Somebody was just assaulted," the chairwoman said. "That is unbelievable."
Ralph Rebandt, an Oakland County pastor and former candidate for governor, served as parliamentarian for the meeting and could be heard in the audio recording calling on Republicans to pray after the fight broke out.
“We know that only you can bring peace in our hearts and in this meeting,” Rebandt prayed.
Later, during a speech on "party unity," Karamo said the fight showed some people were "purely agitators."
"We are literally being incited to fight each other," Karamo said.
