| New reporting from both The Bulwark and WLNS finds that the Green Party nominee in Michigan’s 7th Congressional district donated to Republicans in 2023 and “party officials say they have not been able to reach him in the four months since” his nomination.
WLNS reported that “…a spokesperson for the Green Party said there is a possibility [the nominee] is a Republican operative.”
The nominee “joined the meeting around two hours in — with his camera off,” and was subsequently nominated within the next half hour “despite saying that he was not a member of the party and no one within the party could vouch for him.”
A spokesperson for the Michigan Green Party said that “no one has heard from [the nominee] since April 25.” WLNS reached out to the nominee “multiple times” with no response and went to his listed address: “a six-bedroom condominium in a Brighton suburb worth nearly $1 million…which property records show is owned by a family trust.”
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WLNS: Unknown US House candidate who secured Green Party nod with little vetting donated to Republicans in 2023
- A man no one in the Green Party appears to have met is on the November ballot in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts. He was nominated in about half an hour, on a Zoom call, with his camera off — and party officials say they have not been able to reach him in the four months since.
- Shane Dedrick, of Brighton, was nominated April 25 at the Green Party of Michigan’s virtual nominating convention and filed for the ballot in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District on April 27, according to Livingston County candidate filing records.
- … a spokesperson for the Green Party said there is a possibility he is a Republican operative.
- “It is equally likely that Dedrick was planted by Republicans, or that he just changed his beliefs,” said Green Party of Michigan spokesperson Doug Marsh, who is also running on the Green Party ticket in the U.S. Senate race alongside Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. He called the situation “unusual.”
- Federal Election Commission records list contributions from Shane Dedrick of Brighton on March 7, 2023, to Perry Johnson for President Inc., the campaign of the Bloomfield Hills businessman who ran briefly for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Johnson lost the party’s gubernatorial primary earlier this month. The records list matching entries for WinRed, the online fundraising platform Republican campaigns use to process donations. The listed amounts are $1 and $5. The donor’s employer is listed as “homemaker” on two entries and “home” on the other two. His occupation is listed as “mover.”
- The Bulwark was first to report the contributions.
- 6 News reached out to Dedrick multiple times via phone, email and social media, and went to his listed residence — a six-bedroom condominium in a Brighton suburb worth nearly $1 million, according to a Zillow estimate, which property records show is owned by a family trust. No one answered at the residence, though three cars were in the garage. 6 News was unable to find evidence of Dedrick’s campaign, including fundraising efforts, an active campaign website or a campaign committee registered with the Federal Election Commission.
- Dedrick’s social media activity is sparse, but 6 News could not find evidence that Dedrick follows any Green Party-affiliated accounts.
- Dedrick said no one in the Green Party can vouch for him because he doesn’t know anyone in the Green Party.
- Minutes later, one of the delegates at the Lansing Library, where some of them had joined in person, acknowledged how rushed this process seemed for an unknown 25-year-old who still had not been asked to turn on his camera. The delegate brought up his concern with nominating candidates who are secretly Republicans.
- Marsh admitted that the party has not been able to contact Dedrick since the April 25 convention, and that he has not appeared at any convention events. “To my knowledge, no one has heard from him since April 25,” Marsh told 6 News via text message on Saturday.
- “Still no word from Dedrick,” he told 6 News in a text message last week.
The Bulwark: Did MAGA Infiltrate the Green Party in Michigan?
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