Joseph Cella (right) with his wife, Kristen, and President Donald Trump. Courtesy | Joseph Cella
Joseph Cella ’91, a former ambassador under Trump, is “cautiously confident”
Hillsdale alumnus Joseph Cella ’91 hopes to lead the Michigan Republican Party into the 2026 election cycle, and a “vast majority” of Hillsdale County Republican delegates will support him at the state party convention this weekend, according to county party chairman Brent Leininger.
“I’m cautiously confident,” Cella said. “You never know how these things turn out.”
Cella calls himself a “seasoned political combat veteran.” After managing campaigns for Michigan Senate races, he worked as a staffer in the House of Representatives. He co-founded CatholicVote in 2005 and, during the 2016 election, Cella advised the Trump campaign on Catholic outreach before serving as ambassador to Fiji in the first Trump administration.
“He did a lot of work this last election cycle, working to get President Trump re-elected to office,” Leininger said. “We need somebody in that position who can bring the different groups of the party together to raise funds and support our candidates up and down the ballot in 2026.”
College President Larry Arnn endorsed Cella for chairman Feb. 7.
“Joe Cella is a splendid man, citizen, husband, father, and Republican,” Arnn said in a statement. “He will be a faithful and effective state chairman. Michigan needs him. I urge you to support him.”
After serving as ambassador, Cella returned to Michigan and worked with current Michigan Republican Chairman Pete Hoekstra — a former ambassador to the Netherlands and Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Canada — to block the China-based company’s construction of an electric vehicle battery plant in Big Rapids, Michigan. The two former ambassadors said the plant posed a national security threat from the Chinese Communist Party.
Cella received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Hillsdale College in 2023 for Outstanding Professional Achievement in American Diplomacy. His eldest daughter is a sophomore at the college, and another will attend starting next year.
At Hillsdale, Cella majored in English, minored in history, joined the Sigma Chi fraternity, and served on the Catholic Student Council. He also spent a semester in the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program, where he interned on Capitol Hill.
“It provided me with a rigorous liberal arts education grounded in the Western canon, and that was at a time when nobody was really doing that intentionally and doing it well,” Cella said. “I think it was certainly one of the number of waypoints in my life pointing me to a life in the arena of public policy, government, politics, and service to our country.”
Cella faces two other candidates: Meshawn Maddock, who served as former party co-chair with Ron Weiser from 2021-23, and State Sen. Jim Runestad, a Republican who represents White Lake.
Leininger said he is uncertain of how Runestad could fulfill his legislative and party duties, if elected, and said he was unsure of Maddock’s accomplishments in her time as co-chair.
The choice of chairman could determine the strength of Republican fundraising and campaign infrastructure heading into the 2026 governor’s contest, an open race for U.S. Senator Gary Peters’ seat, and state legislative elections.
The party’s leadership and finances were in shambles a little over a year ago after lackluster fundraising left the state party strapped for cash and deep in debt, according to The Detroit News. Former chairwoman Kristina Karamo criticized former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos — a crucial, longtime donor — and she stopped giving to the state party. With only $35,000 in its bank accounts in August 2023, the party took out a $110,000 loan to pay actor Jim Caviezel to speak at its convention.
“I would say that the symptoms we‘ve witnessed over the last few years are probably part of a bit of a lengthier illness that has beset the party,” Cella said.
Karamo had only led the Michigan GOP for 11 months when she was voted out by the party’s executive committee in January. She called the vote “illegal” and “illegitimate,” but President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee endorsed Hoekstra as her replacement. Big donors, including DeVos, began donating again to the state party led by a new chairman.If elected, Cella said he would inherit a party still saddled by debt and outstanding campaign finance fines.
“For 10 years, there has not been a finance committee of the Michigan Republican Party,” Cella said. “There is no reason for that. That is an engine that helps the chairman raise necessary funds for the Michigan Republican Party.”
Cella said he can ensure financial support of the party continues.
“My running mate and I,” Cella said, referring to his co-chair candidate, Jessica Barefield, “have the confidence of donors, their children, and some new donors that are coming into the party — both in-state and out-of-state — who believe in our plan and know we can execute.
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