VICTORY LAP

The November election for the most part cements the legacy of Michigan Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekstra who took over the reins of the state GOP after a disastrous term at the helm by Kristine Karamo which had left the party organization basically bankrupt and in a complete state of turmoil highlighted by physical fights at a couple of party gatherings. One Republican observer said the election results from November were a “huge feather in his cap” after flipping the state House to the Republicans, reportedly the only state House in the nation to change hands in the general election to Republican control. But the state GOP will now be searching for a replacement for Hoekstra who served in Congress from 1993-2011, and was appointed as ambassador to the Netherlands under Donald Trump. Hoekstra’s curriculum vitae also includes unsuccessful runs for governor in which he was defeated in the 2010 primary and a loss to Democrat Debbie Stabenow in 2012 for the U.S. Senate. Hoekstra right after the general election this year headed to Florida to meet with Trump, hoping for an appointment which he got as U.S. Ambassador to Canada as a reward for his work. One party wag also credits Republican state Rep. Matt Hall, the new speaker of the House, and House member Bill G. Schuette, son of the former Michigan Attorney General by the same name. As the party insider framed it, they both “worked their asses off” along with Hoekstra. As the party starts the search for a new heir for the top spot, the names being floated at this early hour are Scott Greenlee of Lansing who ran for the party post in 2023; Terry Lynn Land, Michigan Secretary of State from 2003-2011, who lost to Gary Peters in 2014 for the U.S. Senate; state board of education member Nicki Snyder; and Rocky Raczkowski, recent past party chair for the Oakland Republican Party who also served time in the Michigan House from 1997-2003.