In January, Washington State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski announced she would not run for another term

Brett Davis
The Center Square Washington

Caleb Heimlich, who has led the Washington State Republican Party since 2018, plans to step down as chair this summer, ending an over five-year run that saw the party strengthened in terms of finances and outreach, if not the makeup of the state Legislature.

Heimlich, 37, one of the youngest state party chairs in the country, cited spending more time with his family – a wife and three young children – as the main reason for leaving the job, mentioning the often gridlocked commute between his home in Puyallup and state Republican Party headquarters in Bellevue.

“I’ve done my time at the party,” Heimlich told The Center Square in a phone interview.

He has served with the Washington State Republican Party since 2011, formerly as the organization’s political director, executive director, and chief of staff.

The party has grown in fundraising, training people to run for office, and has recruited more than 12,000 new grass roots activists and expanded its reach through emerging and traditional media under Heimlich’s tenure, according to his biography on the WSRP website.

“I’m leaving the party in good financial shape – $500,000 in the bank – and no scandals,” he said. “The organization is healthy.”

The state Republican Party’s solid financial footing hasn’t translated into success at the ballot box in the Evergreen State, where Democrats dominate.

In the last six years, Washington Democrats have won control of every statewide elected office, including Steve Hobbs, who last year was the first Democrat elected as secretary of state in nearly six decades. Democrats also flipped the state Senate in the 2017 election and have grown their legislative majorities in each of the last three election cycles.

Democrats currently hold a 58-40 advantage in the House of Representatives and a 29-20 advantage in the Senate.

Heimlich said his resignation is effective on Aug. 12 when a new party chair will be elected in what he anticipates will be a “smooth transition.”

He didn’t offer up any specifics on what he will be doing after that, but said a run for public office in Washington at some point in the future is not out of the question.

In 2008, Heimlich ran for a state House seat in east Pierce County, but was eliminated in the primary election.

Heimlich’s impending resignation is the latest leadership shakeup for a major political party in Washington.

In January, Washington State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski announced she would not run for another term, having served six years in the position. Later that month, Democrats elected Shasti Conrad, the former leader of the King County Democrats, as the party’s new chair.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.