DETROIT — Donald Trump on Monday called Eric Castiglia, the new leader of the Macomb County Republican Party, another demonstration of the former president's interest in internal party races playing out this month within the Michigan GOP.
"He knows what’s going on. He obviously does," Castiglia said about Trump in a Tuesday interview. "He’s paying attention to what’s happening in the county.”
Trump's call came five days before the Michigan Republican Party's Saturday state convention in Grand Rapids, where GOP delegates will endorse candidates for attorney general and secretary of state. Trump is backing Kalamazoo lawyer Matt DePerno for attorney general, the top law enforcement position, and Oak Park educator Kristina Karamo for secretary of state, the top elections position.
During an occasionally raucous county convention on April 11, Castiglia and other Macomb County Republicans took control of the local party and ousted former county Chairman Mark Forton from his leadership position, citing a lack of confidence. Then the Macomb Republicans voted on which delegates to send to the state convention.
Forton, an ardent supporter of Trump, had publicly criticized fellow Republicans who, he argued, weren't doing enough to support the ex-president and his push for an audit of the 2020 election.
Castiglia said Trump called Monday to check in. The call lasted about six minutes, the chairman said.
Trump knew what had happened in Macomb County, Castiglia said. Macomb was the largest Michigan county to vote for Trump in both 2016 and 2020 and is seen as a bellwether area in state politics. Trump asked Castiglia about a lot of candidates and wanted to know whom he was supporting in some races, the new chairman said without specifying which ones.
"I said I am not going to endorse,” Castiglia said of his reply on the call.
Castiglia said he wants the Macomb County GOP to be a safe haven for all Republicans.
"He was fine with that," Castiglia said of Trump. "He actually said, 'I totally understand.'"
Saturday's state convention is widely viewed as a test of Trump's influence within the Michigan Republican Party. DePerno, who has led efforts to question the 2020 election results in Michigan, is running against former state House Speaker Tom Leonard of DeWitt and current state Rep. Ryan Berman of Commerce Township for the attorney general endorsement.
The winner of the GOP nomination will challenge Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel in November.
Trump hosted a fundraiser in Florida for DePerno in March and held a rally for him and Karamo in Macomb County on April 2.
Last week, Forton and his vice chairwoman, Lisa Mankiewicz, filed a challenge with the Michigan Republican Party's credentials committee over the results of the April 11 county convention. In a letter, Forton and Mankiewicz claimed the votes at the meeting violated party rules and that "guests" who weren't eligible to vote improperly participated.
"We demand that our MI GOP declare the county convention to not be legitimate," they wrote.
In a Tuesday statement, Castiglia said the state credentials committee had denied Forton's challenge.
"Our committed group of state delegates and alternates are ready to head to Grand Rapids this weekend to select members of our statewide ticket and can do so without the specter of a baseless credentials challenge hanging over their heads," Castiglia said in the statement.
But Forton is maintaining that he is still the chairman of the county party and his leadership team remains intact.
"The issue of this takeover is finished," Forton said in a Facebook video on Monday.
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