Kristina Karamo

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Kristina Karamo

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Associate

Macomb County Community College, 2006

Bachelor's

Oakland University, 2011

Graduate

Biola University, 2020

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Kristina Karamo (Republican Party) ran for election for Michigan Secretary of State. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Karamo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

On February 18, 2023, Karamo was elected to serve as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party. On January 6, 2024, a vote was held in Oakland County, Michigan to remove Karamo as chairwoman of the Republican Party of Michigan. The executive committee of the Republican National Committee voted unanimously on February 14, 2024, to officially recognize Pete Hoekstra as Michigan’s GOP chair.

Biography

Kristina Karamo earned an associate degree from Macomb County Community College in 2006. She earned a bachelor's degree from Oakland University in 2011. She earned a graduate degree from Biola University in 2020.

Elections

2022

See also: Michigan Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan Secretary of State

Incumbent Jocelyn Benson defeated Kristina Karamo, Gregory Stempfle, Christine Schwartz, and Larry Hutchinson Jr. in the general election for Michigan Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jocelyn Benson (D)	55.9	2,467,859
		Kristina Karamo (R)	41.9	1,852,510
		Gregory Stempfle (L)	1.2	52,982
		Christine Schwartz (U.S. Taxpayers Party)	0.6	27,937
		Larry Hutchinson Jr. (G)	0.4	16,615

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,417,903
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Michigan Secretary of State

Incumbent Jocelyn Benson advanced from the Democratic convention for Michigan Secretary of State on August 21, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Jocelyn Benson (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Michigan Secretary of State

Kristina Karamo defeated Cindy Berry, Beau LaFave, and Cathleen Postmus in the Republican convention for Michigan Secretary of State on August 27, 2022.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Cindy Berry (R)
✔		Kristina Karamo (R)
		Beau LaFave (R)
	Submit photo	Cathleen Postmus (R)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for Michigan Secretary of State

Larry Hutchinson Jr. advanced from the Green convention for Michigan Secretary of State on April 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Larry Hutchinson Jr. (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Michigan Secretary of State

Gregory Stempfle advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan Secretary of State on July 10, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Gregory Stempfle (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Michigan Secretary of State

Christine Schwartz advanced from the U.S. Taxpayers Party convention for Michigan Secretary of State on July 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Christine Schwartz (U.S. Taxpayers Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kristina Karamo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Karamo's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an everyday citizen determined to protect our voting rights. Our voting rights are inextricably linked to our liberty. I share to concerns of many citizens that our country is going in the wrong direction. However, securing our voting rights are the only mechanism we have to have a say. I’m commit to being a servant-leader, upholding my oath of office.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Our voting rights are inextricably linked to our liberty, and I’m determined to protect them as Secretary of State.
• SoS branch offices will be customer-focused, with an efficient appointment and walk-in system.
• As an automotive regulatory agency the Secretary of State must work with businesses to protect the consumer, not function as a money making entity..

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about protecting our Constitutional Rights. Governments exist to protect our rights from being violated. We must be vigilant to keep elected officials in check regarding what their duties are.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The Michigan Secretary of State is the cheif election officer. It is their job, to ensure the heart beat of our freedom our election system is operated per the rule of law.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Jesus Christ. He loved everyone, even those who despised him. He taught to love your fellow man, as you love yourself. That we are to love our fellow man, as we love ourselves. That we are to be patient, and speak the truth in love.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

When I was six years old I remember the Gulf War, specifically Desert Storm. When I was a kid, I was always interested in current affairs, because it impacts our lives. I’m interested in anything that impacts our lives.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

At 17, the summer before college I worked as a waitress at a breakfast restaurant.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The most important responsibility of the Secretary of State is to protect our voting rights. Our voting rights exist in three elements: ballot access, ballot security, and preventing illegal ballots from being cast. Irrespective of political affiliation, I will protect your voting rights.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

One of the responsibilities of Secretary of State is to protect your identity. A current issue, and that third party groups are allowed to have intimate details about our voter registration database. Which makes Michiganders vulnerable to voter fraud.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Noteworthy events

Leadership challenge within Republican Party of Michigan (2024)

On January 6, 2024, a vote was held in Oakland County, Michigan to remove Karamo as chairwoman of the Republican Party of Michigan. Karamo denied the legitimacy of the vote and claimed that she was still chairwoman. "Their performance has no legal standing," Karamo said. "I am still chair of the Michigan Republican Party."

Following the January 6, 2024 vote, Republican Party of Michigan co-chairwoman Malinda Pego said that she was the new acting chair.

On January 13, 2024, a group of Republican Party of Michigan committee members aligned with Karamo met in Houghton Lake, Michigan and voted to retain Karamo as party chairwoman. The state committee faction also voted to remove Pego as co-chairwoman, while also removing six pro-Pego state committee members, declaring them “out of compliance” with the party.

On January 20, 2024, the faction of the Republican Party of Michigan that removed Karamo selected Pete Hoekstra as its new leader.

“We will go to the (Republican National Committee), present the work that happened here today and say we are the legitimate Republican Party in Michigan, “ Hoekstra said after the January 20 vote was held.

On February 14, 2024, the executive committee of the Republican National Committee voted unanimously to officially recognize Hoekstra as Michigan’s GOP chair. Karamo rejected the RNC’s decision, indicating in an email from the state’s official Michigan GOP account that she will continue to lead the party.

On February 27, 2024, Kent County Circuit Judge J. Joseph Rossi issued an injunction barring Karamo from conducting business as party chair.

See also

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