State GOP picks Hernandez for lieutenant governor at occasionally combative convention

LANSING — Michigan Republicans officially set their ticket of candidates for November at an occasionally combative convention Saturday in downtown Lansing, where former state Rep. Shane Hernandez was selected as the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor.

The gathering began with boos against Chairman Ron Weiser and a two-hour fight over which delegates should represent Macomb County. But it concluded with a overwhelming vote of support for Hernandez of Port Huron, a conservative whom Republican candidate for governor Tudor Dixon selected as her running mate.

About 77% of voting delegates supported Hernandez. He only needed more than half of them to vote for him to become the nominee.

“I think it shows that the delegates know me and trust me,” Hernandez said after the vote.

Some within the party’s grassroots were hoping to overrule Dixon, but those efforts failed with delegates voting to affirm Hernandez on the first ballot at a convention that lasted more than six hours.

Matt DePerno, the Republican attorney general candidate and a grassroots favorite, nominated Hernandez for lieutenant governor on the convention floor, a move that benefited Hernandez’s cause. The ex-legislator had also been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who called on Republicans to unite in a statement on Monday.

“He understands the grassroots fight that we are in, and he stands with us,” DePerno told the crowd.

Republicans also officially nominated DePerno, a lawyer from Kalamazoo, and Oak Park educator Kristina Karamo for attorney general and secretary of state on Saturday. Both candidates rose to prominence making unproven claims of fraud in the 2020 election, have been endorsed by Trump and were endorsed by GOP delegates in April.

Their nominations were approved in a voice vote with little to no opposition.

Meshawn Maddock, co-chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, said the delegates’ voices were heard and the event demonstrated enthusiasm for the GOP.

“We have an incredible ticket,” she said at the end of the convention. “People love to act like it’s divided, but we have a beautiful ticket.”

When Weiser took the stage Saturday, he was booed by many delegates. And about three hours later, the convention voted to replace a slate of Macomb County delegates, backed by Weiser, with delegates championed by Weiser critic Mark Forton, the chairman of the Macomb County Republican Party.

“We’re taking our party back,” Forton said during an interview on the convention floor.

The internal party feuding marked the beginning of the party’s convention, an event that comes 73 days before the Nov. 8 election, in which Republicans hope to unseat Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Before getting to nomination votes, the delegates had to approve rules for the convention and weigh in on the feud over Macomb County’s representation.

The battle in Michigan’s third largest county has been going on for months. During a contentious county convention on April 11 that featured shouting, police presence and an air horn, Republican delegates in Macomb County who back Eric Castiglia took control and moved to replace the party’s executive committee and attempted to make Castiglia the party’s chairman.

Castiglia’s supporters argued that Forton had promoted disunity in the party by criticizing other Republicans and focusing on challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

But Forton, who was elected county chairman in 2020, and his supporters maintained that he’s still the county party’s leader. And on Aug. 5, Macomb Circuit Court Judge Matthew Sabaugh agreed with him, saying Castiglia’s team had violated party bylaws in the takeover.

Weiser and the state party’s leadership chose to continue recognizing Castiglia and his slate of delegates, about 197 at Saturday’s convention.

The state convention delegates overruled Weiser in a procedural vote Saturday, deciding to replace Castiglia’s delegates with Forton’s delegates.

Forton said about 100 delegates would be changed out, because some delegates were on both Castiglia’s slate and Forton’s slate.

“The people of Michigan are starting to wake up and realize that they have absolutely no control over their government or their party,” Forton said.

In an interview before the convention started, Castiglia called on the party to move past internal differences and start working together.

“All of this infighting about who’s a better a Republican than the other has to stop today,” Castiglia said.

Forton’s victory could have aided Pastor Ralph Rebandt of Farmington Hills, who was attempting to take Hernandez’s position as Dixon’s running mate.

Dixon selected Hernandez for lieutenant governor, but the convention delegates had to affirm the choice. Rebandt was hoping delegates would reject Hernandez and choose him.

Forton said the “vast majority” of his delegates planned to back Rebandt.

After the Macomb County vote, the procedural fights on the convention floor stopped, and Weiser announced there would be a paper ballot vote on Hernandez as part of a deal among competing factions.

Some Rebandt supporters were concerned that Hernandez would be officially nominated through a voice vote without an official count.

Ben Jamieson, an alternate delegate from Allegan County, was among the delegates voicing frustration with current party leadership on Saturday. Delegates should be honored and rules should be followed, he said.

“They’re arbitrary, make up their own rules and they act like it’s their club to run,” Jamieson said of his views on state party leadership.

Brian Forbes, a delegate from Saginaw, was wearing a shirt at Saturday’s convention that said, “Ask me why I’m voting for Matt for AG.”

DePerno is going to correct the state’s problems, Forbes said.

Asked how DePerno and Karamo can beat Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in November, Forbes responded, “God’s intervention. He’s got control of all of this stuff.”

Craig Mauger covers state politics for The Detroit News.