The grassroots muscle displayed by supporters of former president Donald Trump last weekend shocked the traditional Michigan Republican establishment.
Going into the April 23 GOP Spring Endorsement Convention, party regular Tom Leonard—a former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives—was widely favored to win the party’s endorsement to take on Democrat incumbent Attorney General Dana Nessel in November.
Shortly before the Grand Rapids gathering, Leonard released a list of 200 endorsements he received from establishment Republicans.
At the convention, Leonard was defeated by Matt DePerno, a private-sector constitutional lawyer from southwest Michigan who has never held public office.
In a three-way race, which included suburban-Detroit State Representative Ryan Berman, DePerno stunned political observers by garnering 49 percent of the vote to Leonard’s 40 percent on the first ballot.
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