OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Republican Party Chair Caleb Heimlich is stepping down.
Heimlich, who was elected as chair in January 2018 to replace Susan Hutchison, cited spending more time with his family as his primary reason.
He told KING 5 that "being a Republican in a blue state has been a challenge."
"One of the challenges in politics today is there's so much divisiveness, there's frankly so much hatred," he said.
Heimlich was hired as state party political director in 2011, and promoted to executive director in 2013, before being elected chair. He was re-elected in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Heimlich said he will be working for a national, non-partisan organization that he has not named.
In a prepared statement, he said that while he will be "engaged in a different capacity, I will continue to advocate for common-sense solutions, constitutionally limited government, and more freedom. I am committed to restoring balance to Washington state government and believe our citizens would be better served by more representation of diverse views than we currently see from the majority party in Olympia."
The election for a new chair of the state Republican Party is expected to occur on Aug. 12.