The Michigan GOP conducted its statewide convention on Saturday to select new party leaders.

Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, was declared the victor after the second ballot among the three candidates who vied for chair of the GOP to replace Pete Hoekstra, a former U.S. representative and also as the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands during the first administration of President Donald Trump.

More recently, Hoekstra has been Michigan chair of the GOP after serving as a principal advisor to the Michigan-China Economic and Security Review, which focused on stopping the construction of the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Gotion electric-vehicle battery plant in Mecosta County. Hoekstra is stepping down from his chairmanship of the Michigan GOP after Trump named him U.S. ambassador to Canada. When asked for his comments by The Midwesterner, Hoekstra declined.

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Runestad was one of three chair candidates that also included Trump-endorsed Meshawn Maddock and former U.S. Ambassador Joe Cella. Cella was defeated in the first ballot, winning 23.4%. Runestad came in first at 45.85%, while Maddock won 30.72% of delegate votes.

The majority of Cella supports went to Runestad, who won 67% of votes in the second round. Maddock, who won 37% in the second round, made a motion for a unanimous ballot for Runestad.

The candidates for party leadership expressed a desire to prevent another Democratic trifecta that saw the opposing party take control of the Michigan House, Senate, and Governor’s office in the 2022 election. That trifecta ended when Republicans took control of the House last November.

Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, introduced a proposed ballot initiative for a Michigan constitutional amendment intended to reverse Michigan’s current election rules, which allow voters to cast ballots without first showing a valid picture identification. The initiative also aims to block attempts by unregistered voters, such as last November, when a Chinese national University of Michigan student cast a ballot. Although the student attempted to retrieve his ballot, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson interpreted Michigan’s voting laws to allow his vote to be counted.

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The convention delegates overwhelmingly passed the initiative proposal, which states in part:

“WHEREAS Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has consistently refused to require proof of United States citizenship by those registering to vote in Michigan, and,

“WHEREAS in the recent elections a glaring vulnerability in our electoral system was exposed by a Chinese student registered to vote, cast his ballot and had his ballot tabulated all at the same time, while illegally claiming to be a United States citizen, and,

“WHEREAS eight states passed ballot measures to prevent noncitizen voting during the 2024 elections, and,

“WHEREAS Rep. Bryan Posthumus is to introduce a constitutional amendment in the Michigan House of Representatives that would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and proof of identity when voting in person or by mail, and, …

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the Legislature does not act, the Michigan Republican Party urges support for a statewide petition drive to amend the constitution to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and proof of identity when voting in person or by mail.”

Passing the measure in the legislature would require a two-thirds majorit y vote, which is unlikely, so the initiative put it up to voters as a ballot proposal.

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