Michigan state Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) won his bid to be the next chair of the Michigan Republican Party Saturday.
Runestad campaigned on a promise to be a strong fundraiser, to spend party money effectively, and unite different party factions. That’s after infighting between self-described “grassroots” members of the party and who they saw as the “establishment” led to the removal and replacement of a former party chair a year ago.
Runestad told reporters after the vote that he intentionally avoided picking sides in during any frays. He said he’ll be a mediator between the groups at odds sides.
“A lot of the times you'll find that they have a reasonable complaint with this group, has a reasonable complaint against that group. That stuff I have done my entire life is get people into a room and have a dialog and say, ‘What is your issue?’ And, a lot of times, you'll find that they start coming together,” Runestad said.
By Saturday’s convention, the candidate field had whittled down to Runestad, former MI GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, and former Ambassador to Fiji Joe Cella. Maddock had won the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
It’s the second straight cycle that a Trump-endorsed candidate came in second in the race for chair. In 2023, Trump-backed lawyer Matt Deperno lost to former chair Kristina Karamo.
Runestad, who has long been an ardent Trump supporter, said he won’t hold a grudge.
“I’m not going to be holding any vengeance or anger towards anyone, every single person, whether they treated me well or not. I'm going to be outreach to them to try to unify the party. Having fighting within the party is the worst thing that will happen,” Runestad said.
Runestad’s main job as chair will be raising money and helping recruit Republican candidates for the state’s 2026 election.
Detroit-based convention delegate Patricia Farmer said she hopes to see “grass roots” members of the party have a greater voice in the Republican platform going forward.
“I would like a more conservative agenda, leadership under a conservative agenda like we see in Trump and a smaller government, and more accountability with taxpayers dollars,” Farmer said.
Next year is already gearing up to be a particularly high stakes election year in Michigan.
The entire executive branch, including the governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, will be open. There will also be an open Supreme Court up for grabs.
Beyond that, there’s going to be an open U-S Senate seat on the line. And the entire state legislature will be up for election too.
What happens with those races could come down to which party creates the biggest coalition.
Last year, Republicans grew their footprint with southeast Michigan’s Arab-American and Black communities in particular. As then-party ethnic vice chair, Runestad’s new co-chair, Bernadette Smith, helped organize some of that work.
Smith said, beyond needing to meet people in communities where they are, the party should look beyond racial and ethnic divisions.
“All nationalities come when they hear truth. But reaching out is very important because they don't know except (if) we go to them. So, I believe in going into that place. And it's amazing how when we get there, the like, well, there's no difference between us,” Smith said.
Saturday’s convention took place in Detroit at Huntington Place downtown, a spot where Democrats have held their spring conventions in the past. It was one of Karamo’s choices while she was still chair. But Smith said she’d want to see future meetings in Detroit as well.
