Conspiracy Theorist Who Called Abortion ‘Satanic Practice’ Is Elected Chair of Michigan GOP

Kristina Karamo is a conspiracy theorist, election denier, and all around unhinged person who has called abortion a “satanic practice.” I reported in September that her ex-husband, Adom Karamo, alleged in court documents that she tried to crash a car with him and their two children inside when he asked for a divorce. Adom claims that Kristina reached for the steering wheel while he was driving and said, “Fuck it, I’ll kill us all.” (Karamo didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment but insisted on Twitter that the allegations were “categorically false.”)

Now, somehow, Karamo has been elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party. It took three rounds of voting at the group’s convention on Saturday for her to emerge victorious in a field of 10 candidates. She beat Trump-endorsed Matthew DePerno by 58 percent to 42 percent on the final ballot. Karamo will lead the state party for the next two years, as Republicans try to flip the Senate seat held by the retiring Debbie Stabenow (D) and help the GOP presidential nominee win the state. She’s definitely got her work cut out for her!

Karamo was previously the Republican nominee for Michigan’s secretary of state, a position that oversees elections. She lost to incumbent Jocelyn Benson (D) by 14 points in November and has yet to concede in that race, of course.

Here are two paragraphs from the Detroit Free Press, not The Onion:

“We will not betray you; we will not lie to you,” Karamo said in a brief victory speech as convention delegates were hustled out of the Lansing Center. The cash-strapped state party had only paid to rent the hall until late afternoon. Officials extended the arrangement until 8 p.m., but told delegates they had to leave quickly after the third ballot.

…

Long considered an organizational and fundraising juggernaut, the Michigan Republican Party took a historic shellacking in the November election, losing every statewide office and losing control of the Michigan Senate for the first time in 40 years. So dismal are the party’s finances that delegates to this weekend’s convention, in a historic first, were charged a convention entry fee—$50 if paid in advance or $75 at the convention door.

When she addressed convention delegates, Karamo said, “Our party is dying.” One can only hope!