CHANGING PARTY PICTURE
Looks like there won’t be much of a battle for leadership of the state Republican party, now that Laura Cox, former state lawmaker and wife of former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, has announced that she will no longer be seeking another term as party boss. That automatically catapults University of Michigan regent, businessman, former U.S. ambassador (George W. Bush) and former party chair (2009-2010 and 2017 and 2018) Ron Weiser and likely co-chair Meshawn Maddock (from Milford) into the top party spots when the state party convention is held February 6. Both Weiser and Maddock bring some baggage to party leadership posts. He – over 4,000 people have signed an online petition asking him to resign the university board spot, and faculty members have sent their own letter asking for the same outcome. Her – a track record of being on the fringes of the party through far right organizations like the West Oakland Tea Party, founding other hyper-conservative groups backing Trump, including organizing Michigan busloads to the pro-Trump rally that preceded the siege of the U.S. Capitol the first week of January. Her far right credentials are further burnished by her marriage to state Representative Matt Maddock (44th-Milford), although one observer said she is “the brains” of that partnership. Some have suggested there could be opposition to Maddock due to her Trump servitude and strident far-right positions but others say Meshawn has gotten “better” in terms of realizing that not every Republican in Michigan is into hero worship of The Donald. Others note a lot of Michigan GOP delegates continue to be Trumpsters, making her choice a good one.