For years, Hillsdale County was a place where politics were quiet, predictable, and handled by a select few behind closed doors. Most residents were too busy working, raising families, and living life to pay much attention to party meetings, bylaws, or delegate lists. They trusted that the people in charge were doing their jobs. But by 2019, that trust began to break.
Behind the scenes, the local Republican Party had gone stagnant. The statutory members—mostly elected officials—showed little interest in building the party or engaging with the grassroots. Conventions were treated like formalities. The base was ignored. Constitutional conservatives saw it clearly: the local party had been hollowed out and repurposed as a shell to protect the status quo.
So they got to work.
By the fall of 2020, grassroots conservatives had recruited over 50 new precinct delegates and dues-paying members. They organized a legitimate county convention and elected new leadership. The goal was simple: rebuild the party, restore its principles, and give local Republicans a real voice again. But that didn’t sit well with the establishment.
In 2021, things escalated. The county party issued a formal censure of then-State Senator Mike Shirkey. That move drew national attention and triggered backlash from statutory members—many of whom hadn’t attended a single county convention in years. But it was just the beginning.
Later that year, Hillsdale’s Adams Township Clerk, Stephanie Scott, refused to hand over her tabulator after the 2020 election, citing state law requiring 22-month preservation of election materials. In response, the Hillsdale County Clerk and Deputy Clerk worked with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office to have a warrant issued against her. In the following election, Scott was stripped of her duties, and the deputy clerk ran the township’s election without her. A lawsuit followed—one that remains unresolved years later and has draw National attention.
This became a pattern: when grassroots conservatives tried to follow the rules, the establishment ignored them mid-game. When they spoke up, they were painted as dangerous or ignorant. When they stood their ground, they were dragged into court.
By 2022, Hillsdale’s GOP establishment had interfered with not one but two precinct delegate elections, violating state election law and the party’s own bylaws. Delegates were left off ballots. Entire precincts were manipulated. In response, the grassroots turned to the Michigan Republican Party’s State Committee—and they listened. MIGOP’s Policy Committee and 5th District leaders began working with Hillsdale’s reformers to hold the county accountable and restore lawful order.
But just when the tide seemed to turn, the local government pushed back harder.
In 2023 and 2024, attempts to obtain public information through FOIA were delayed or denied outright. Law enforcement began showing up preemptively to board meetings—not in response to disorder, but as a deliberate intimidation tactic.
And then came the courts.
Time and again, local judges ruled against grassroots conservatives in cases where the facts and precedent were on their side. Worse, some judges contradicted their own earlier rulings when it suited the establishment. What started as a political dispute became a war of attrition in the courtroom, with lawfare used to drain energy, resources, and morale.
It became clear: all three branches of local government were compromised.
The executive branch selectively enforced the law—sending officers to meetings and denying FOIA requests, arresting delegates for Facebook posts. not sending officers to defend against the State stealing township election documents and machines.
The legislative bodies—city councils, school boards, the county commission—refused to act or even listen to constituents unless forced to, which requires petitioning the people. Even then, some refuse to listen.
And the judiciary, once expected to be impartial, instead sided with the establishment time and again, shielding officials from accountability.
Yet despite it all, the people didn’t give up.
They kept recruiting members. They kept showing up. They kept organizing meetings, gathering signatures, and working with allies at the state level. And in doing so, they exposed the entire rigged system—not in theory, but in practice, both in the Party and the Governments.
What Hillsdale proves is simple: you can follow the rules, speak the truth, and still be punished for it—if you ask questions of the wrong people. But what the establishment still doesn’t understand is that the American people—especially the ones in small counties like Hillsdale—don’t scare easy.
The courts may fail. The sheriffs may use their department to intimidate. The officials may lie.
But the people? The people are noticing, pay attention, getting involved.
And once they see the truth, they don’t unsee it.
This fight isn’t over. It never really is. But what Hillsdale County shows us is that you don’t need millions of dollars or national headlines (although, they do help) to take your county back. You just need courage, consistency, and a refusal to quit.
Because in the end, it’s not the regime that wins.
It’s the common man who remembers who he is—and decides they’ve had enough.
in Liberty.
The Hillsdale Conservatives
