FILE: Matthew DePerno, 2022 Republican candidate for Michigan attorney general, speaks to reporters at the Kent County GOP headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.Ben Orner | MLive.com
LANSING, MI – Matthew DePerno will try to become Michigan’s next attorney general while facing possible criminal charges from that very office.
Michigan Republicans officially nominated DePerno as the party’s AG candidate, as county delegates confirmed in a voice vote at Saturday’s state GOP convention to place him on the Nov. 8 ticket. He had already been endorsed by different delegates at an April convention.
Candidates nominated at Saturday’s convention did not give speeches about their candidacies, but DePerno and other statewide nominees are scheduled to speak at an evening event on the Capitol lawn.
DePerno will face Democratic AG Dana Nessel. An attorney from Kalamazoo, DePerno first rose to prominence as former state Rep. Todd Courser’s lawyer in a 2015 scandal where Courser and fellow representative Cindy Gamrat tried to cover up an extramarital affair.
He gained wider notoriety after the 2020 election, when he led some legal efforts in Michigan to challenge election results and processes in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s loss. In rural Antrim County, a clerical error initially reported Joe Biden the winner but was caught, explained and fixed.
DePerno, however, filed a lawsuit and claimed Dominion Voting Systems election software and machines in Antrim were “corrupted.”
He pledges on his campaign website he will “prosecute people who corrupted the 2020 election” and names Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
But despite nearly two years of insistence by Trump and his allies, Michigan’s 2020 election was not stolen from him. State results have been upheld by more than 200 audits, and the lack of widespread fraud was confirmed in a state Senate report last year.
That Republican-led report also concluded DePerno’s Antrim County claims were “demonstrably false and based on misleading information and illogical conclusions.”
The most pressing item in the AG race is DePerno’s involvement in an alleged scheme to illegally take and analyze ballot tabulators from three Michigan counties. Benson’s office referred claims to Nessel’s office, whose investigation alleges DePerno was “one of the prime instigators of the conspiracy.”
Read more: Nessel names AG opponent DePerno in voting machine probe, wants special prosecutor
DePerno was present at a hotel room during the voting machine ‘testing,’ Nessel’s office said when details became public three weeks ago.
DePerno has denied the allegations and has called Nessel’s investigation politically motivated. Nessel, though, requested a special prosecutor to mull over charges, so not to have a conflict of interest with DePerno being her opponent.
Policy initiatives listed on his website include going after “radical government overreach” including COVID-19 mandates, as well as preventing critical race theory from education and public employment.
Related: Critical race theory isn’t taught in Michigan but does play a role in how teachers think about equality
His campaign store also sells a bumper sticker that reads: “LOCK WHITMER AND NESSEL UP,” referring to Michigan’s governor and AG.
On abortion, DePerno has said he will enforce Michigan’s 1931 ban on the procedure (currently paused by a court). He also wants to work with the legislature “not to criminalize the mother, but to criminalize those who financially gain” from abortions.
A poll released Friday by Lansing-based pollster EPIC-MRA put Nessel ahead of DePerno, 43-39%, among likely voters, with 18% undecided and a 4-percentage-point margin of error. 79% said they did not recognize DePerno, compared to 44% for Nessel.
Michigan Republicans held a convention in April – with different county delegates – to endorse candidates like DePerno and secretary of state nominee Kristina Karamo. In Michigan, candidates for these offices are chosen by parties instead by voters in the primary election.
DePerno received 54% of the vote in that convention, beating former House Speaker Tom Leonard in the second round of voting. He and state Rep. Ryan Berman combined forces after the first round, as DePerno was considered an outsider and Leonard and Berman establishment candidates.
Read more from MLive:
Convention chaos: Snubbed Michigan county GOP chair leads swap of Macomb delegates
Gretchen Whitmer tells Dems Michigan’s democracy is at stake
Michigan Democratic Party sets slate for November at nominating convention
Attorney general race could impact Michigan abortion prosecutions after Roe
Attorney General should be involved in education issues, Michigan Republican candidate says
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).
Cookie Settings
© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
Ad Choices