As Republicans in Washington State assess the fallout from last Tuesday’s elections, upturning the state party hierarchy is becoming an outlet for a very real sense that opportunities for GOP gains were missed because of a lack of a ground game.
By telephone this morning, Kirby Wilbur informed me that he would be running for chair of the State Republican Party, and that he had made an earlier call to Luke Esser to let him know of the decision. Wilbur cited the lack of a ground effort to reach voters as a critical failure in last week’s election, and said that his decision to challenge Esser was a difficult one that he nevertheless felt compelled to make.
Wilbur is a longtime talk radio host and currently heads up the Washington chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative education and advocacy group. His announcement was also confirmed by email to The Everett Herald.
By voicemail message, Luke Esser confirmed that he will be running for re-election and that he looks forward to building on gains made in recent years.
Changes may also be afoot on the spot that some define as the scene of the crime, the Democratic stronghold of King County. Current KCGOP vice chairs Walter Liang and Jill Fagan will not be seeking re-re-election and two suitors have quickly stood up to run for their slots.
Jennifer Burke announced on her Facebook page this morning her intent to run for the open vice chair positions. Burke gained exposure during her husband Matthew Burke’s primary campaign in the First Congressional District. Her experience in the field of education could be seen as a valuable asset to a party that has struggled to make inroads into the Democrats’ most popular affinity constituency.
Matthew Lundh also confirmed by email that he will seek the other vice chair spot. Lundh has worked on communications and campaign strategy for the Republican Party both here in Washington State and in D.C.
An email was sent to current KCGOP chair Lori Sotelo shortly before the publication of this post to ask whether she intends to run to keep her position at the helm. Although it is assumed that she would like to continue in the position, there have been no public statements confirming.
UPDATE: Lori Sotelo confirmed last night that she will run for re-election to the KCGOP chair. Sotelo has set up a Facebook page to channel support for her effort.
Comments
About Time!
I was about to post a long reply to Bryan's previous "Missing the Big Wave Piece," but I'm so happy Kirby is going to challenge Senator Esser I don't know what to say! What I *was* going to say: Okay. Luke Esser as judged by the results has in fact been a very polite, well spoken failure. Who then should take the helm of the rudderless Washington State Republican Party? The Evans-Gorton-Munro-Reed club will produce more Democrat-Lite leaders and candidates. The Clint Didier-esque angry Tea Party'ite wing will likely produce angry leaders that turn off much of the Snohomish-King-Pierce County Squishy centrists that determine statewide elections year-after-year. Successful candidates like Rob McKenna, and up-and-comers like Reagan Dunn wisely take their political careers seriously and don't want to get stuck in the weeds-and-mud of the mechanics of running a state party. So who does that leave to displace Luke Esser? Even former political staffers like Kellie Daniels have become successful political consultants who likely wouldn't want the tiny income or election return hits that leading the state party would likely bring them.. What about the likes of oft-written Eric Earling? Or other former/current DC staffers like Liz Fortunato (Gorton & Hastings), Travis Sines (Dunn), Chris Strow (Metcalf & State House), or Mariana Parks (Reichert)? At least those names have seen Republicans win in this state! I am onboard with ousting Luke Esser based on results, but then what? Attila the Right
Good News!
Very happy to hear this. Kirby Wilbur would be a far better GOP chair than Luke Esser. Luke is a nice guy but has no business in his current position. Kirby is well respected and has the ability to get things done.
State Chair
woot woot ! !
Maybe Kirby can change things up
I have gotten involved for the first time in electioneering, and I have been struck by the difficulties finding out HOW to help, besides the damned phone banks, which I frankly think are outdated. (Lost cost is lost cost - acknowledge we've paid for the dinosaurs and move on). Why aren't there more You-Tubes? Why aren't the websites better? Why don't we have the party challenging the motor voter registrations BEFORE the ballots end up down in Tukwila? That process looks fine, I watched the ballot processing, but people are registered as legal voters who shouldn't be and we know it! Have watchers at the DMV, not Tukwila! Get the techno savvy youngsters to redo the web sites and develop videos, not waste time on the stupid phones!
Maybe Kirby can change things up
I have gotten involved for the first time this election cycle, and I was frustrated on how hard it was to contribute work, besides the damned phone banks, which I think are dinosaurs. Where are the You tubes, the good web sites? Get the techno savvy youngsters to work on this, rather than the antiquated phone banks, which I cannot believe do much at all. Get people checking up on registered voters, not the Tukwila ballot counts, which I watched and look legit, it's the registration which is messed up.
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