Kristina Karamo

Kristina Karamo is an American far-right[1] politician and former poll watcher who is serving as the chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party. Karamo was the Republican Party's nominee in the 2022 Michigan Secretary of State election, losing to incumbent Democrat Jocelyn Benson.

Kristina Karamo
Chair of the Michigan Republican Party
Assumed office
February 18, 2023
Preceded byRonald Weiser
Personal details
Born1985 or 1986 (age 37–38)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Adom Karamo
​
(div. 2014)​
EducationMacomb County Community College
Oakland University (BA)
Biola University (MA)

Karamo is a staunch proponent of many disproven conspiracy theories, including the false claim that Donald Trump won Michigan (and the national presidential election) in 2020.[2][3][4]

Education

Karamo received an associate's degree from Macomb County Community College.[5] She graduated from Oakland University with a bachelor's in communications and media studies. She graduated from Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology with a master’s degree in Christian Apologetics.[6][7]

Political career

Karamo is a member of the MIGOP State Committee.[6] She ran for the 10th district of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners in 2018, which covers the city of Pontiac, but lost in the Republican primary.[8][9]

2020 presidential election

Karamo was a poll watcher in the 2020 presidential election.[6] After the 2020 presidential election she became an election denier.[3] She alleged illegal votes were included in the count.[10] She submitted an affidavit that she had as a poll watcher "personally witnessed" irregularities in vote counting.[10] After the January 6th United States Capitol attack she called it a false-flag operation, saying that "this is completely Antifa posing as Trump supporters...anybody can buy a MAGA hat and put on a t-shirt and buy a Trump flag”.[10]

2022 Michigan Secretary of State candidacy

Karamo was previously the party's nominee in the 2022 Michigan Secretary of State election.[10] She framed her platform as based on family values and religion, including a religious objection to abortion.[10]

Two weeks before election day she filed a lawsuit, in which she alleged ballot "mules" had cast illegal ballots and that there were concerns with voting machines, attempting to throw out absentee ballots from Detroit.[3][11]

Karamo lost to incumbent Democrat Jocelyn Benson. She lost by 14 percentage points and refused to concede the election.[3]

Michigan Republican Party Chair

In 2023 Karamo was elected to lead the state's Republican Party.[3] After the election she reiterated her refusal to concede the Secretary of State election, saying "Conceding to a fraudulent person is agreeing with the fraud, which I will not do."[12] Karamo is the first Black woman to chair the Michigan Republican party.[13]

In March 2023, Karamo faced widespread criticism and condemnation for defending a social media post by the Michigan Republican Party which compared recent gun safety bills passed by the legislature to the Holocaust.[14][15] Karamo defended the comparison and refused to apologize or take down the post. In a contentious press conference, Karamo argued that people get “way too offended” and said it should not be controversial to “point to history.”[16] Several prominent Michigan GOP officeholders and officials, the Republican Jewish Coalition, and numerous others have condemned the comparison and Karamo’s defense of the post.[17][18]

Personal life

Karamo is a resident of Oak Park. She is an instructor at Wayne County Community College.[6][7][10] She is a single mother of two children.[19]

In an October 2021 court record first published by Jezebel, Kristina's ex-husband Adom Karamo claimed that Kristina threatened to kill herself and their daughters in a car crash.[20] Karamo denied these allegations, saying they were an attempt by her ex-husband to "exploit the fact that [she is] a public figure, using it as leverage to change the custody agreement he became dissatisfied with".[21][10] Kristina and Adom had divorced in 2014.[22]

Karamo believes that demonic possession is real and may be transferred through sexual relations. She has also said that abortion is child sacrifice and a satanic practice,[23][24] that pop stars such as Beyonce, Jay-Z, Cardi B, Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish are tools of Satan recruiting their followers into paganism, and that yoga is a ritual to summon demons.[25][26]

Electoral history
2018 Oakland County 10th Commission District Republican primary election[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David B. Foster 473 60.18%
Republican Kristina Karamo 307 39.06%
Write-in 6 0.76%
Total votes 786 100%
2022 Michigan Secretary of State election[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jocelyn Benson (incumbent) 2,467,859 55.86% +2.96%
Republican Kristina Karamo 1,852,510 41.93% −2.05%
Libertarian Gregory Scott Stempfle 52,982 1.20% −0.76%
Constitution Christine Schwartz 27,937 0.63% −0.54%
Green Larry James Hutchinson Jr. 16,615 0.38% N/A
Total votes 4,417,903 100.00%

References
  1. Multiple sources:
  2. "Far-right election denier beats Trump's pick for Michigan GOP". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  3. Vigdor, Neil (2023-02-18). "Michigan G.O.P. Installs Kristina Karamo, an Election Denier, as Leader". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  4. Mangan, Dan; Breuninger, Kevin (2 September 2022). "Trump pick for Michigan secretary of state race Kristina Karamo threatened to kill her family, court records claim". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  5. "Kristina Karamo". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  6. Collins, Tim (May 13, 2021). "Detroit Mom to Run Against Michigan Secretary of State Benson". 95.3 WBCKFM. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  7. "Detroit-area college professor enters 2022 MI Secretary of State race". WZZM13.com. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  8. "Pontiac educator running for Oakland County Board of Commissioners seat". The Oakland Press. 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  9. "Election Results". Oakland County Elections Division. August 22, 2018. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  10. King, Jon (2022-10-08). "Karamo makes abortion and religion the centerpieces of her secretary of state campaign". Michigan Advance. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  11. Weisman, Jonathan; McFadden, Alyce (2022-11-07). "Candidates Make Final Appeals in Midterms Campaigns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  12. "Far-right election denier beats Trump's pick for Michigan GOP". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  13. "Kristina Karamo elected chair of Michigan Republican Party". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  14. "MIGOP facing backlash over tweet comparing gun legislation to Holocaust". WLNS 6 News. 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  15. Channel 3, Anthony Sylvester and Rachel Louise Just | News (2023-03-22). "MIGOP receives national condemnation after tweet comparing gun bills to Holocaust". WWMT. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  16. "Michigan GOP attempts to tie gun reforms to Holocaust, faces backlash". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  17. Schnell, Mychael (2023-03-22). "Republican Jewish Coalition leader blasts 'offensive' state party tweet, image". The Hill. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  18. Gabbatt, Adam (2023-03-23). "Michigan GOP chair refuses to apologize for comparing gun control to Holocaust". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  19. Godfrey, Elaine (May 22, 2022). "The Election Denier Who Could Run Michigan's Elections". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  20. "'Fuck It, I'll Kill Us All': Kristina Karamo's Ex-Husband Accused Her of Trying to Crash Car with Entire Family Inside". Jezebel. 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  21. "Trump pick for Michigan secretary of state race Kristina Karamo threatened to kill her family, court records claim". CNBC. 2 September 2022.
  22. Schuster, Simon (September 2, 2022). "Michigan Republican SOS candidate Kristina Karamo tried to crash car with family in it, according to court filing". MLive. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  23. Burris, Sarah (2022-07-05). "Trump-backed Michigan Republican warns of "demonic possession" through sex". Salon. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  24. Hear Michigan's Trump-backed secretary of state nominee compare abortion to 'child sacrifice' | CNN Politics, 2022-07-06, retrieved 2023-02-22
  25. Hananoki, Eric (25 April 2022). "Michigan secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo: Beyoncé, Cardi B, Korean drama, and yoga are tools of Satan". Media Matters. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  26. Joseph, Cameron (April 26, 2022). "Beyoncé, Yoga, Billie Eilish: Trump-Backed Candidate Thinks Everything Is Satanic". Vice. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  27. "2022 Michigan Election Results". Michigan Election Results.
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