LANSING, Mich. _ The Michigan Republican Party is poised to oust one of its state leaders for her refusal to support presidential candidate Donald Trump, a spokeswoman said Monday.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, the party chairwoman, gave tea party activist Wendy Day a chance to fall in line with the GOP ticket or resign. But Day told the Free Press on Monday she has no intention of stepping down as the party's grassroots vice chairwoman.
"It is important for our party to represent all of the voices in our party, not just the loudest," Day, of Howell, said in a letter emailed to McDaniel. "Therefore, I am not resigning."
That means McDaniel will likely declare Day's elected position vacant until the next state convention in February, using a power in the party bylaws that has never been used before, Michigan Republican Party spokeswoman Sarah Anderson said.
"We're consulting with our legal counsel," Anderson said. "We're taking it very seriously."
Day was a Michigan leader of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign and has refused to back Trump.
McDaniel sent a weekend email to state committee members after receiving a complaint about Day from Matt Hall, a state committee member from western Michigan.
"Our bylaws dictate that if an elected officer of the party is not supporting our ticket, they be removed," Anderson said Monday.
That's especially important for a grassroots leader. And Day has compounded matters by speaking out against Trump in media interviews, she said.
"If somebody was very opposed to french fries and hated french fries, they can't take a job at McDonald's and refuse to sell french fries," Anderson said.
The effort to oust Day comes as Trump has slumped in the polls and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and other prominent Michigan Republicans _ who are elected Republican officials, but not party officers who are subject to party rules _ have denounced or otherwise distanced themselves from the New York real estate developer and businessman. Calley said he wouldn't vote for Trump after the recent release of a videotape in which Trump boasted about sexually assaulting women by kissing and groping them without consent.
Anderson said Calley's constituents are the people of Michigan, but Day's are grassroots Republican Party members in Michigan.
Day said in the email she can support neither Trump nor Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, as a matter of conscience.
She said one of the ideas the party has stood for is "that women should be cherished and that morality and character matter."
"While some may say that I am not supporting the party, that is simply not true," Day said. "In fact, in looking long term, I am doing my best to try to protect what the party has stood for," and encouraging Republicans to turn out on Nov. 8.
"We have never had an election like this," Day said in the email to McDaniel. "Those who say that the normal rules don't apply to this election are correct. We need to be honest about the number of people who are considering staying home on Nov. 8 _ and we need to work to reach out to them without being bullies."
