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Michigan Republican statewide candidate sticks to far-right message

voting MichiganRepublican candidate for secretary of state took the stage as a warm-up for the former president in the general election donald trump Emphasizing the main theme of her campaign.

Cristina Caramo has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 presidential election that have been repeatedly debunked. She told an audience at her recent rally at her college in her community, McComb, that “authoritarians” were giving her millions of dollars. Democratic Party Opponent, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, is attempting to “corrupt the electoral system of battleground states so that they can control America.”

“History tells us what tyrants did,” says Karamo, a former community college professor. We will lose the greatest country in human history. ”

It was a speech designed to rouse a crowd of die-hard Trump supporters who clung to baseless Q-Anon conspiracy theories.

Karamo’s speech was met with cheers, but relying on a general election strategy that appeals to far-right voters is a gamble for Michigan Republicans.

Candidates who must travel to their party’s home base for primaries and nominating conventions often shift to the center with the aim of attracting more voters to the general election. But this year, that hasn’t happened for Republicans aspiring to Michigan’s top three statewide positions: governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

The Nov. 8 election, in a traditional battleground state where the Republican incumbent lost a race in the White House to Democratic challenger Joe Biden, resonates with the far right and has strong ties to Trump. It tests whether a campaign designed to highlight is good enough to win.

all three Republican Party At an October 1 rally at a university about 20 miles north of Detroit, the candidate stood behind Trump, speaking to Rep. Joined by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who amplified the falsehood. .

Trump falsely claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen” in Michigan, first slamming Karamo and state attorney general-nominated tax accountant Matthew Deperno. citing “evidence” he said originated.

In an address to the crowd, Deperno called Democrats “I want you to shut up” and “radical, cultured Marxists.”

“If that doesn’t work, they want you in jail,” Deperno told the crowd, who fell into chants of “lock her up.” All three Democratic incumbents are women. .

DePerno’s campaign is clouded by an inquiry into whether he should be charged with trying to access voting machines after the 2020 election.

Grand Rapids real estate agent and district representative John DeVray, who attended the rally, said he was thrilled with the candidates. I got my first ticket,” he said.

Some moderate Republicans are skeptical that a campaign that primarily appeals to the party’s fundamental elements will be enough to beat Democratic incumbents with broad visibility and a sizable funding advantage. Democrats are also expected to benefit from putting to the ballot an amendment seeking to include abortion rights in the state constitution.

These Republicans believe that inflation, gas prices, and economic instability should be the main points of contention for the Republican Party, and their continued affiliation with Trump and his false claims that widespread fraud cost him his re-election. He said it was not a claim.

They point to the unusual way Michigan selects its attorney general and secretaries for state candidates. This process takes place through party nominating conventions rather than through primaries where voters make their choices.

The most conservative Republicans loyal to Trump dominated that convention in April. Republican Co-Chairman Meshawn Maddock has accused his 16 Republicans of submitting false certificates of being the state’s presidential electors, even though Biden’s victory in the state was proven. was one of his

Three weeks before the convention, at another Trump rally, Deperno urged attendees—many of whom were constituency delegates—to “raid” party rallies, saying “it’s time for the grassroots to unite.” I was.

The delegates voted overwhelmingly for Karamo’s nomination. DePerno won the runoff vote against former Legislative House leader Tom Leonard, who lost to his Democrat Dana Nessel in the 2018 Attorney General election by three percentage points.

“Caramo and Deperno are among the most loyal to Donald Trump anywhere in this country,” said longtime Republican strategist Jason Lowe. “That loyalty has been unwavering in this electoral process, regardless of how it affects the outlook for the general election.”

Law, whose father served as secretary general of the Michigan Republican Party for 10 years, will become secretary general of the state party in the spring of 2021. Six months later, he resigned due to “disagreement over how much conspiracy theories should be allowed.”

Immediately after Mr. Low’s resignation, Mr. Trump began calling on party leaders to “force the party to formally accept things that won’t help the next election,” Mr. Low said.

The party’s gubernatorial candidate, Tudor Dixon, won the nomination in August’s primary after winning Trump’s endorsement. Dixon, a conservative news show host who once starred in low-budget horror films, also benefited from the support of the wealthy DeVos family.

Dixon, who is seen as less extreme than Karamo and Deperno, has indicated during the debate that he believes the 2020 presidential election has been stolen, and recently plotted to kidnap Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. neglected. Dixon has since tried to stay away from denying the results of the last election by focusing on topics like his inflation and education, but he also repeats far-right rhetoric on cultural issues.

She called for a ban on “porn” books in schools and pitched an educational agenda modeled after Florida’s policy, which critics labeled “Don’t Call Me Gay.”

Democrats are attacking DePerno and Caramo for continuing to deny Biden’s 2020 victory, but they’re focusing on what they describe as Dixon’s “extreme” abortion stance. The lack of funding made it difficult for her to resist.

Dixon had $524,000 in the bank as of Aug. 22, compared to Whitmer’s $14 million, according to the latest available campaign finance report. Some of that gap has been filled by super PAC Michigan Families United with his $2.5 million donation that includes the DeVos family.

“I don’t like the lack of Dixon commercials on TV,” said Laura Bunting, an Ionia County resident who attended the Trump rally.

Karamo and DePerno had a combined cash on hand of $422,554 as of Sept. 16, while Democratic opponents had a combined $5.7 million, according to campaign finance reports.

The Michigan-based pollster Barney Porn says the Republican candidate is defined with an extreme stance, but hasn’t raised enough money to appear on television and introduce himself to a wider range of voters. It “makes it difficult for people to form favorable opinions of you,” he said.

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Joey Cappelletti is a member of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover hidden issues.

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follow APs For full midterm election coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ap-michigan-donald-trump-gop-democratic-b2198862.html Michigan Republican statewide candidate sticks to far-right message

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