FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
April 16, 2026
Contact: Levi Teitel, levi@progressmichigan.org
Michigan Republican Delegate Training: ‘We Don’t Need non-Christians, Independents, and Minorities’
MICHIGAN – Michigan Republicans have been caught in hot water again. During a Berrien County Republican Party delegate training on April 11, Lance Griffin from the organization 10x Votes gave a presentation to delegates that included a slide that said, “We welcome them if they wanna vote for us, but we don’t need non-Christians, independents, and minorities in order to win.” This follows a strong pattern of Michigan Republicans pushing forward division and fear rather than speaking to day-to-day concerns that people across the state are facing, from the top echelons of leadership to the grassroots level.
In response to this news, Justin Mendoza, executive director of Progress Michigan, issued the following statement:
“We have already known for a long time that this is how the Michigan Republican Party feels, but we have never seen it so boldly put into writing. Republicans have made it clear that they want to limit who can participate in our democracy. Federal GOP lawmakers have made it their top priority to pass the SAVE Act, which is essentially a modern-day poll tax. And now, Michigan House Republicans went ahead and passed their own version of the SAVE Act this week. MIGOP Chair Jim Runestad should make clear publicly whether or not he is willing to stand by this racist delegate training, but we shouldn’t hold our breath for a response.”
Images of the presentation can be found below.
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