DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – After months of internal strife among Michigan Republican delegates, State Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) emerged as the new chair of the Michigan GOP.
Sen. Runestad prevailed in a three-way contest against former Ambassador to Fiji Joe Cella and former MIGOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, who had secured a late endorsement from President Donald Trump. Ultimately, neither Trump’s support nor the backing of withdrawn contender Republican consultant Scott Greenlee was enough to clinch the position for Maddock.
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In the initial round of voting at the party’s convention on Saturday, about 1,900 Republican precinct delegates voted for their new leader. Runestad led with 46% of the vote, while Maddock received 31% and Cella 23%. Because no candidate got more than 50%, a second round was held, during which Runestad gained Cella’s endorsement. The final vote was 63% for Runestad and 37% for Maddock, leading Maddock to concede the race.
Runestad was elected to a two-year term and says he’s going to keep his seat in the Senate which ends in 2026.
Who is Runestad?
Runestad is widely regarded as one of Michigan’s most conservative legislators. He has served in the Senate since 2019, following a term in the state House from 2015 to 2018, and previously led a financial services firm. While many Michiganders don’t know who he is, the precinct delegates have been getting to know him the past few months as the candidates spent their time courting their votes during town halls.
On his website, Runestad listed his priorities as Chair including financial accountability to the donors, establishing a viable financial structure, effectively communicating the Republican message and building unity within the party. Building unity will be a tough task but Runestad might be the perfect person for the job. He told reporters at the convention, “I stayed out of the factional fighting. I didn’t attack any donors. I didn’t attack any of the previous chairs…my goal is that we are forward looking and not looking backward at anything that may have been done wrong.”
Can Runestad mend the MIGOP mess and unify the Republicans to fight the Democrats?
The MIGOP has been a fractured group ever since the disastrous Kristina Karamo era and the scars remain fresh. Kristina Karamo was ousted as Michigan GOP chair in January 2024 after months of internal chaos, accusations of financial mismanagement, and deep factional divides within the party. Her tenure was plagued by accusations of failing to pay vendors, withholding financial transparency, and alienating major donors, which left the party in financial disarray.
The Michigan Republican State Committee overwhelmingly voted to remove her, though she refused to accept the decision at first, leading to a brief but messy power struggle. Former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra was then elected as her replacement, tasked with stabilizing the party, restoring donor confidence, and preparing for the crucial 2024 elections. His leadership was seen as a return to experience and pragmatism, in contrast to what many called Karamo’s combative and controversial approach. However, with Hoekstra tapped by President Trump to be the new ambassador to Canada, a new Chair was needed.
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Though Karamo herself wasn’t in the running for anything, there are still two clear factions in the party and they were seen at the convention: those who wanted to bury the Karamo legacy and those who are still arguing in defense of her short tenure. Now with Runestad at the helm of the party, will the Karamo battle lines remain drawn or will the party unify for the important task ahead of them?
Michigan GOP delegates set the stage in Detroit for a pivotal 2026 election.
As the Republican precinct delegates met at Huntington Place in Detroit over the weekend to decide on their leader to fight the Democratic Party in 2026, the importance of the upcoming Michigan elections was noticeable, making the Chair election especially critical, perhaps even more so than in previous years.
Just about every important state position will be up for grabs: Governor, U.S. Senator, Attorney General, Secretary of State, an open U.S. Senate seat, both chambers of the state legislature and all seats in the Michigan House of Representatives. With Democrats dominating Michigan’s government – aside from the state House – Runestad’s efforts to raise funds and elect Republicans in 2026 will be crucial in preventing the state from continuing on its progressive path.
Slates: The “secret” that precinct delegates know about – but regular folks don’t.
The election process wasn’t just a battle of ideologies – it was a battle of slates. Slates are those handy little lists of who’s in and who’s out, passed around like secret notes in a high school classroom, telling you who to vote for.
Some delegates swear by them, trusting party insiders to guide their votes. Others see them as a rigged system, where the winners are picked in smoke-filled back rooms long before the ballots are cast. Either way, the MIGOP’s future is often decided which slate had the better marketing. These slates are set up at the county party level when they choose who to vote for to send to the convention.
Slates themselves are neither illegal nor inherently unethical, but they contribute to the perception that grassroots voices are sidelined unless they are aligned with the “right” group that holds onto the majority at the county level.
Michigan Democrats also picked a new Chair.
On the Democratic Party side of things, their precinct delegates also met over the weekend in Detroit. Their convention was held at the Renaissance Center and it was supposed to be a battle between Whitmer-endorsed former State Senator Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing) and community organizer Al “BJ” Williams.
Williams, however, dropped out of the race, the Detroit News reported, after failing to attain the 1,270 signatures needed to qualify for the chairmanship, so Hertel won the top spot with no competition.
Can Runestad right the ship?
With the votes counted and the dust settling, MIGOP Runestad now faces the daunting task of unifying a party that’s been at war with itself for over a year. He inherits an organization that has struggled financially, lacks direction, and has lost the trust of many key donors.
If Runestad fails to elect Republicans in 2026, Democrats will once again secure their hold on Michigan, maintaining their firm progressive control over the state.
