Donald Trump to host fundraiser for Michigan secretary of state candidate Karamo

Lansing — Former President Donald Trump will host a fundraiser for Michigan secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo on Aug. 16 at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The event is a sign of Trump's emphasis on key races in the battleground state and on campaigns for positions that oversee elections.

The ex-president has been critical of Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's handling of Michigan's 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden by 154,000 votes or 3 percentage points.

While Trump and his supporters have maintained unproven claims that fraud cost him the election, a series of court rulings, more than 200 audits and an investigation by the GOP-controlled state Senate Oversight Committee have upheld the result.

Trump will give remarks at the fundraiser for Karamo, according to an invitation document obtained by The Detroit News. Money raised at the event will go to Karamo's campaign account and a political action committee (PAC) called "Karamo SOS Fund," the document says.

That PAC was established in May, according to campaign finance records.

For $25,000 contributed or raised, donors can get a photo with Trump and Karamo, according to the invitation document. For $1,000, they can attend the reception featuring the former president.

Karamo's campaign confirmed Sunday that Trump is hosting a fundraiser for the candidate on Aug. 16.

Trump endorsed Karamo, a community college instructor from Oak Park, on Sept. 7.

"Kristina will fight for you like no other, and of equal importance, she will fight for justice," Trump said in a statement at the time. "Good luck Kristina, and while you're at it, check out the fake election results that took place in the city of Detroit."

Karamo gained national attention after raising concerns about what she said she saw working as a poll challenger in Detroit in November. She testified before the state Senate Oversight Committee on Dec. 1 and signed onto a brief that attempted to give the GOP-controlled Legislature the power to certify election results.

Benson, former dean of the Wayne State University Law School, won her first term as secretary of state by 9 percentage points over Republican Mary Treder Lang in 2018.

Trump participated in a similar fundraiser for Republican attorney general candidate Matt DePerno at his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida in March.

cmauger@detroitnews.com