Mellissa Carone's moment in the spotlight. (Screen capture)
The divisions between what one might call Michigan's establishment Republicans and the Trump superfans wing of the party came into public view again with Tuesday's special elections to fill vacant state legislative seats, one of which was held in House District 36, the new home of Mellissa Carone.
Mellissa Carone (Screen capture)
Carone, a far-right conservative who intends to run for the House herself later this year, tried to observe the absentee counting board in that district, but was rejected as a challenger and by the husband of one of the candidates (who ultimately lost).
Under state law and administrative rules, election challengers in Michigan can question practices at polling places and boards where absentee ballots are counted. However, they must be appointed by a political party or an official organization, and they must have challenger credentials.
(Shelby Township Clerk Stan) Grot, a Republican clerk whose wife is running in the House District 36 GOP primary, said Carone had an old credential. She tried to use her 2020 credential from the former TCF Center, where Detroit's absentee ballots were counted for the presidential election, the clerk said.
You might recall it was her experience at the TCF Center in November 2020 that launched the Carone fameball into Michigan politics, and into the cold open of "Saturday Night Live" in subsequent weeks.
Grot ruled that, as a non-credentialed challenger, she could only be a poll watcher, which doesn't require credentials but doesn't allow ballot challenges, either. She was also confined to a set area and not permitted to roam among the tables where votes were being counted.
"She's not happy," Grot said at about 3 p.m. Tuesday. "She thought she could spread her wings and do whatever she wanted to do.”
Carone was backing Terence Mekoski, who won the election, beating Sylvia Grot, Stan's wife.
On Wednesday morning, Carone posted The Detroit News story on her own Facebook page, under the comment: "Lies, lies, and more LIES."
In other intraparty Michigan political news, recently declared GOP gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson announced he would attend a Florida fundraiser for attorney general hopeful Matthew DePerno, which will be hosted by former President Trump. The choice apparently puts Johnson in the stolen-election cohort of the party, a question he ducked in a recent public appearance.
Perry Johnson in Super Bowl ad
The Detroit News, again, reports:
In a statement Tuesday evening, a week before the fundraiser, Johnson endorsed DePerno, a Kalamazoo lawyer who rose to prominence by questioning the 2020 election and called on other GOP candidates for governor to join him in the move.
"I’m endorsing Matthew DePerno for attorney general because of his commitment to securing our elections and because he is the best candidate to defeat Dana Nessel," Johnson said.
DePerno has been outspoken about what he falsely claims was fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which earned an early endorsement from Trump. However, former House Speaker Tom Leonard, who faced Nessel in 2018 and came the closest to winning of any GOP candidate for top state executive spots, is generally preferred by the more moderate wing of the party.
