Yob, Brandenburg deny endorsements, stay neutral in race for state GOP chair

The campaign for Michigan Republican Party chair took a few turns on Tuesday as two high-level Donald Trump supporters said their endorsements were falsely claimed by incumbent chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.

Chuck Yob, a longtime party powerbroker, and state Sen. Jack Brandenburg both said they did not offer an endorsement and they are remaining neutral in the contest – at least for now. Romney McDaniel’s competitor is Scott Hagerstrom, who served as chair of the Trump campaign in Michigan.

According to the MIRS news service, Yob and Brandenburg were falsely listed as supporters in a Romney McDaniel  press release.

As the chairmanship race heats up, the incumbent is trying to quash a burgeoning pro-Hagerstrom movement. Last week she announced that four of the six co-chairs of the Trump campaign have backed her. In keeping with protocol, the chairwoman remained neutral during the primary elections.

Yob, a former Republican National Committee member, told MIRS that he has not endorsed either candidate.

Yob’s son, John, also a political operative, has been steeped in intra-party controversies for several years. The Yobs’ consulting firm, Strategic National, reportedly had advisers assisting the Trump campaign during the primary season, and insiders say that John Yob may have provided a mass email list to the Trump effort.

With the state convention and the vote for chair still more than two months away, business decisions could be the reason why the Yobs have not yet made an endorsement.

Brandenburg’s neutrality is far more surprising. The outspoken senator from Macomb, where the descendants of the Reagan Democrats gave Trump a huge victory margin, was the highest-ranking elected official in the state to endorse Trump when he made his announcement in February.