Grand Rapids, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump is poised to sweep Michigan's complicated and messy Republican convention in dominating fashion on Saturday.
Trump won overwhelming majorities in each of the state's 13 congressional districts — gathering 100% of the vote in four and more than 90% in all others, according to unofficial numbers from party officials. reported in real time.
The win positions Trump to claim all 39 delegates awarded based on convention results. Trump is expected to win most of the 16 delegates up for grabs based on Tuesday's primary results, in which he decisively defeated former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.
Party executives are expected to formally confirm primary and convention results and quota numbers later on Saturday.
Idaho and Missouri also hold GOP presidential caucuses on Saturday.
Chaos created by an ugly Michigan GOP leadership dispute and other intra-party chaos hovered over proceedings here. Until Friday evening – just hours before delegates decided where to arrive the next morning – there was talk of rogue and competitive mini-conferences.
Pete Hoekstra, who had the blessing of the Republican National Committee as chairman of the state party, organized the convention in Grand Rapids. Christina Karamo, the ousted and dissident former state party chairwoman, had planned to hold her own convention in Detroit, but canceled those plans at the last minute. Meanwhile, party activists from several Congress districts have planned to hold their own meetings elsewhere this weekend.
“Representatives have been getting conflicting and confusing emails for weeks — promoting different agendas, different personnel, different traditions,” said Jason Gable Rowe, a senior Republican strategist in Michigan. “You have to pay close attention to who is sending what, and what formal directions and events.”
Hoekstra, who served as Trump's ambassador to the Netherlands, has endorsed the former president's 2024 campaign and has called Haley a “speculative” candidate even as he continues to campaign. Haley received zero votes in several districts Saturday.
“Part of being a delegate is representing as many voices as you can, and knowing that there are so many people in this room to vote for, I think that allowed me to vote for a candidate that's probably not as popular as President Trump,” said Carter Houtman, the only Haley voter in the 2nd District caucus.
Karamo, a 2020 primary contender in Michigan who lost a 2022 bid for secretary of state, was elected last year to lead the state party. But activists soon became frustrated with his financial decisions and fundraising practices. A faction within the party voted to impeach him in January — the RNC and a Kent County Circuit Court judge said a vote was appropriate.
Hoekstra maintained all along that his convention counted, given the RNC's support and the judge's order. His conference drew a huge crowd — the hallways of the downtown hotel where it was held were packed wall-to-wall before the 10 a.m. start time.
But there were grumblings among some local activists, including those who missed a deadline to apply for credentials while waiting for the courts to resolve the leadership dispute between Hoekstra and Karamo.
A statement Friday from the 1st Congressional District Republicans in northern Michigan said most delegates were denied credentials for the Grand Rapids convention because they missed registration deadlines while they waited for the courts to resolve the leadership issue. The group plans to hold its own convention at Houghton Lake. The 4th Congressional District GOP chairman said, citing similar credentialing issues Detroit News And this Detroit Free Press That he would hold a Saturday meeting at Battle Creek.
“The newly announced administration … appears to be ignoring the rules and inviting dissent with the approval of allies of the Republican National Committee,” said 1st District GOP Chairman Dair Renton. “We will not play that game by falling for their confused message and backlash. It is not acceptable to deny a majority of delegates elected at county conventions in the 1st Congressional District the right to be heard at the state district convention.
Hoekstra Friday said He is exploring “ways to allow delegates to participate on Saturday even if the certification rules are not followed.”
Some attendees complained Saturday that the process was too chaotic, especially as activists in multiple districts tried to hold satellite conferences, even as other representatives from those districts traveled to caucuses in Grand Rapids. Others resented having to travel long distances to have their credentials rejected because they missed Hoekstra's deadline.
Dan Hartman, who served as the Michigan GOP's general counsel under Karamo and attended Saturday's convention, predicted that challenges for the state's slate of delegates will go all the way to the floor of this summer's Republican National Convention.
“It's not over,” Hartman told NBC News.
But Karamo supporter and 11th District Representative Matt Marco stressed the need to move forward.
“I wanted Cristina to do a good job, she tried hard, but, unfortunately, things happened and now we have to move on because we've got a tough election ahead of us.”
