08/17/2026
The following letter from the Mi-GOP Fifth District Chairman has been submitted to the Mi-GOP Credentials Committee:
To the Honorable Chair and Committed Members of the Mi-GOP Credentials Committee:
Please accept this correspondence as my official request to challenge the Hillsdale County Republican Party’s submission of its slate of Precinct Delegates, Alternates, and other duly selected convention participants following the Hillsdale County Republican Party Convention held on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
I respectfully request that the entire slate of Delegates and Alternates submitted by the Hillsdale County Republican Party to the Michigan Republican Party (Mi-GOP) be disqualified from participation in the upcoming Mi-GOP State Convention, to be held on August 22, 2026, at the Soaring Eagle Event Center in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.
I submit the following as a factual record of the relevant events and circumstances:
1. On February 14, 2026, the Mi-GOP State Committee met in Houghton Lake, Michigan.
2. On February 14, 2026, the Mi-GOP State Committee voted to adopt a settlement agreement to be presented to the Hillsdale County Republican Party.
The agreement was intended, among other things, to limit Mi-GOP’s further liability arising from litigation that resulted in a $48,000 judgment against the State Party.
3. Among the conditions of the settlement agreement was the expulsion and/or barring of the Hillsdale County delegation from participation in future Mi-GOP State Convention activities if the Hillsdale County Republican Party failed to execute the agreement.
4. On March 28, 2026, I, Benjamin R. Myers, Chairman of Mi-GOP’s Fifth Congressional District, authored a letter to the Convention Delegates and led an initiative from the floor of the Mi-GOP State Convention to amend the Credentials Committee Report and expel the Hillsdale County delegation from the convention floor based upon its failure to sign the referenced settlement agreement approximately 42 days after the Mi-GOP State Committee’s directive.
5. That motion ultimately failed. During the discussion, several members opposing the motion noted that, due to an “unknown delay,” the Hillsdale County Republican Party had not received adequate notice of the settlement agreement prior to the State Convention being called to order.
6. For the record, I respectfully request that the Credentials Committee’s meeting minutes reflect that, as of the date of this submission, 183 calendar days, including today, have passed since the Mi-GOP State Committee adopted the settlement agreement.
7. As of August 17, 2026, the Hillsdale County Republican Party has failed to execute the settlement agreement.
8. In light of the foregoing, I respectfully request that the Credentials Committee take appropriate action to enforce the directive and adopted action of the Mi-GOP State Committee by revoking or suspending the credentials of the Hillsdale County Republican Party delegation and excluding its Delegates and Alternates from participation in the Mi-GOP State Convention scheduled for August 22, 2026, as well as any subsequent State Convention, until such time as the settlement agreement has been properly executed.
I respectfully submit this challenge for the Committee’s consideration and request that it be entered into the official record, along with a copy of the Houghton Lake meeting minutes and March Convention Meeting minutes to be supplied by the Mi-GOP administration upon your request.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter and for your service to the Michigan Republican Party.
Respectfully submitted,
Benjamin R. Myers
Chairman, Mi-GOP Fifth (5th) District
Chairman, St. Joseph County Republican Party
P.O. Box 717
Sturgis, MI 49091
Phone: (redacted)
Email: (redacted)
