Michigan Republican Party

Thursday night’s Republican governor’s debate saw Attorney General Bill Schuette touting his ties to President Trump, Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley focusing on his record with Gov. Snyder, State Senator Patrick Colbeck playing up his conservative credentials, and Dr. Jim Hines playing the role of non-politician outsider in the race.

Vice President Mike Pence will be in Michigan Friday. 

He’s helping to raise money for one of the Republicans running for governor.

Pence is the key note speaker at a noon hour fundraiser for Attorney General Bill Schuette’s gubernatorial campaign at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham.

President Trump’s Saturday night speech in northern Macomb County became the latest skirmish in Michigan’s Republican race for governor.

During his speech, President Trump made it clear who he supports in Michigan’s governor’s race.

“We’re honored to be joined by a great friend of mine and a great Attorney general, the next governor of Michigan, Bill Schuette,” Trump told the cheering crowd packed into the Total Sports Park indoor soccer field.

President Trump spent Saturday night rallying his supporters in Michigan.

The president told his Macomb County audience he had another invitation for Saturday night.

“You may have heard I was invited to another event tonight. The White House Correspondents Dinner,” Trump told the crowd, which began booing. “But I’d much rather be in Washington, Michigan than Washington, D.C. right now.”

The president talked about a wide range of topics, from de-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula to Michigan’s auto industry.

This year, TV ad spending is spiking early among candidates running for Michigan governor.

The Michigan Campaign Finance Network reports $1.7 million has been spent on TV ads to promote candidates in Michigan’s governor’s race. 

The network’s Craig Mauger says most of that spending was by Democrat Shri Thanedar, who’s poured $1.2 million into TV campaign ads since the January 1.

EAST LANSING, Mich.- Brian Breslin will not seek re-election this year as a Michigan State University trustee.

Sarah Anderson, spokeswoman for the Michigan Republican Party, says Breslin has informed party officials. Voters choose candidates who are nominated by political parties.

  Breslin is chairman of the MSU Board of Trustees. He has expressed support for President Lou Anna Simon during the controversy over Larry Nassar, who sexually assaulted girls while he was an MSU sports doctor.

The 2018 U.S. Senate race got a shake-up Wednesday, but not because someone was entering the race. Instead, the shake-up came from Republican Bob Young's decision to step down as a candidate. 

Vice President Mike Pence will try to rally support in Michigan tomorrow for the new Republican tax reform plan. He’ll speak Thursday afternoon at American Axle Manufacturing in Auburn Hills.

The plan unveiled this week almost doubles the standard deduction for married taxpayers filing jointly to $24,000. Individual filers will see their standard deduction increase to $12,000.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel hosted a roundtable discussion with African-American community leaders in Detroit on Monday.

McDaniel opened with a swift condemnation of white supremacy after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Saturday.

“As chairman of the Republican party, I want to be perfectly clear,” McDaniel said. “That white supremacy, Neo-Nazi, KKK, and hate speech and bigotry is not welcome, and does not have a home in the Republican Party.”

State Republicans and Democrats are sparring over a proposal to keep some key Affordable Care Act provisions in place in Michigan, even if Congress succeeds in repealing Obamacare.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A former chairman of the Michigan Republican party is leading the GOP again.

Ron Weiser was unanimously elected Saturday as chairman. Ronna Romney McDaniel stepped down to become head of the national party.

Meanwhile, Brandon Dillon was given another term as chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party. Both parties are holding conventions this weekend.

Weiser told 3,000 party members in Lansing that "united we win; divided we lose." McDaniel gave a farewell speech, saying President Donald Trump's victory gives Michigan "the respect it deserves."

The Secretary of the Marquette County Republican Party has stepped down after he tweeted the suggestion that violent protestors at the University of California - Berkeley should be shot.

Dan Adamini says he resigned so he isn't a distraction to the work of the Republican Party.

"Whenever you join an organization, you want to do it because you can be helpful," said Adamini. "And with all the hateful messages and death threats that have been coming not just to me but to other people in the party, I thought it would be best if I stepped aside." 

There’s some mystery about who’s trying to rally support for Libertarian Party candidates in two Michigan state House races.

In recent weeks, fliers promoting the Libertarians starting showing up in mail boxes at homes in the 61st (Portage, MI) and 91st (parts of Muskegon County) districts.   The fliers tout the Libertarians conservative credentials.   But the fliers don’t say who’s behind them. 

Campaign spending on 15 pivotal state House seats tops $10 million, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. 

Democrats need to win nine state House seats currently held by Republicans to wrest control of the lower chamber in Lansing. And both sides are spending heavily.

In big election years like this one, the two major parties typically host election night parties where candidates and party officials gather to hopefully celebrate their victories.

But this year, there will be no big party for the Michigan Republican Party. 

More from Chad Livengood of the Detroit News: