Just seven years ago, Donald Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Michigan since George H.W. Bush. But as the state GOP moved further and further to the right, Democrats capitalized on the extremism to string together major victories in 2018, 2020, and 2022, when they took full control of the state government for the first time in four decades. In the wake of this rout, the GOP has doubled down. Karamo’s ascension to chair is what a Republican Party freed from the constraints imposed by consultants and donors looks like in the Trump era. It is messy, short on cash, and arguably more democratic than ever before.

While Karamo and her supporters fixate on “election integrity” and culture war issues like transgender rights, convinced that it will lead to future victories, ousted moderates look on with schadenfreude. This battleground state fissure is a gift to President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and Democrats’ efforts to hold an open Senate seat that is essential to maintaining control of the chamber.