GRAND RAPIDS – A political newcomer who has never held elected office but secured the key backing of former President Donald Trump won the support of the Michigan GOP to serve as the state's next chief elections officer, preliminary results from the party's convention Saturday showed.
GOP secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo appeared to sail to victory at the GOP gathering in Grand Rapids to endorse candidates for key statewide offices ahead of the midterm election in the battleground state.
No GOP candidate in the attorney general's race received a majority of support among convention delegates, preliminary results showed. The race appeared headed for a run-off election between Kalamazoo lawyer Matt DePerno and former state House Speaker Tom Leonard.
The convention ballots were tabulated by electronic voting machines, and a hand count is currently underway to verify the vote totals.
In the race for the Michigan GOP's endorsement in the secretary of state's race, preliminary results showed Karamo received 67% of the convention vote. State Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, won 19% of the vote and Chesterfield Township Clerk Cindy Berry received 14%.
In 2020, Karamo joined legal efforts to delay the certification of the election and overturn the results.
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