Updated Mar 05, 9:19 AM; Posted Mar 05, 11:45 AM
A West Michigan man is working to form a new political party to replace Republicans with candidates who pledge to rigidly uphold conservative values.
Brian VanDussen, a 44-year-old Zeeland resident and Republican precinct delegate, said the “Patriot Party’ platform focuses on election integrity, reducing the size of government and defending the U.S. Constitution.
Tenets of the proposed third party align with traditional GOP positions, but VanDussen said Republicans who feel their representatives strayed from those values want new leaders to “take our country back.”
Supporters of former President Donald Trump formed social media pages to discuss splintering the GOP over what they perceived as insufficient support for challenging the November election results.
VanDussen said the Michigan Legislature and former Vice President Mike Pence should have delayed certifying the 2020 election until allegations of fraud could be investigated.
“The election happened and we just got sick of Republicans sitting around, not standing up for what’s right,” VanDussen said. “Shortly after the election, when things mentioning a third party were going around on social media I thought ‘if ever there was a time, it would be now.’”
Disagreement over whether Republicans should have blocked procedural steps to certify the election was a source of internal tension. Conservative activists and the Trump campaign pressured Republican canvassers and lawmakers to support the former president’s efforts to overturn his loss in Michigan.
Ultimately, bipartisan canvassing boards affirmed that President Joe Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes. The state’s top elected Republicans said legislative committees found no evidence that fraud changed the outcome and Michigan confirmed its slate of Democratic electors for Biden. All of the legal challenges filed by Trump and his allies failed.
VanDussen said “there’s a very good chance” that fraud caused Trump to lose the election, despite a lack of evidence. State and federal officials have said a small number of confirmed voter fraud cases had no impact on the results.
VanDussen questioned how Trump lost Michigan by a wider margin than Republican U.S. Senate candidate John James. Trump earned fewer votes than James in 25 counties, including Kent and Ottawa counties, suggesting some Republicans split their ticket.
Trump reportedly considered backing a “Patriot Party,” but later called Republicans unity in his first speech since leaving office. The former president also called on supporters to “get rid” of Republicans who voted to impeach him for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6.
