State Party Chairs and Executive Directors 2018

Typically state party chairs are the public face of the party, while executive directors oversee the day to day running of the party; in a few states, the state chair fulfills both roles. 

As of July 3, 2018..  (older editions 2016  2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)

  Dem. Chair   Ex. Dir.  

Rep. Chair  

Ex. Dir.  
AL Nancy Worley
[Nancy Worley]

Terry Lathan
Harold Sachs, cos >
AK Casey Steinau
Jay Parmley >

Tuckerman Babcock
[Tuckerman Babcock]
AZ Felecia Rotellini
Herschel Fink >

Jonathan Lines
Matthew Kenney >
AR Michael John Gray
Taylor Riddle, cos >

Doyle Webb Sarah Jo Reynolds >
CA Eric Bauman
Tina McKinnor, opdir >

Jim Brulte
Cynthia Bryant
CO Morgan Carroll
Pilar Chapa >

Jeff Hayes
Shana Banberger >
CT Nick Balletto
?

JR Romano
?
DE Erik Raser-Schramm
Jesse Chadderdon >

Mike Harrington Sr.
?
DC Anita Bonds Natasha McKenzie

José Cunningham
Patrick Mara to Dec.'17
FL Terrie Rizzo
Juan Peñalosa >

Blaise Ingoglia
George Riley
GA DuBose Porter
Rebecca DeHart >

John K. Watson
Carmen Foskey >
HI Tim Vandeveer
Laura Nevitt

Shirlene Ostrov
Marcia Tagavilla
ID Bert Marley
Elle Casner >

Jonathan Parker
Frank Terraferma >
IL Michael Madigan Tim Mapes

Tim Schneider
Drew Collins
IN John Zody
Britanny Solis >

Kyle Hupfer
Pete Seat >
IA Troy Price
Kevin Geiken >

Jeff Kaufmann
Chad Olsen >
KS John Gibson
Ethan Corson >

Kelly Arnold
Austin Gilpin, dir of ops>
KY Ben Self
Mary Nishimuta

Mac Brown
Sarah Pickerel
LA Karen Carter Peterson
Stephen Handwerk >

Louis Gurvich
Jason Dore
ME Phil Bartlett
Katie Mae Simpson >

Demi Kouzounas
Jason Savage
MD Kathleen Matthews
Stephanie Potter >

Dirk Haire
Patrick J. O'Keefe
MA Gus Bickford
Veronica Martinez >

Kirsten Hughes
Matthew St. Hilaire >
MI Brandon Dillon
Lavora Barnes, COO >

Ron Weiser
Colleen Pero, cos
MN Ken Martin
Corey Day >

Jennifer Carnahan
Matthew Pagano >
MS Bobby Moak
Jacqueline Amos, exflddir >

Lucien Smith
Marcy Scoggins >
MO Stephen Webber
Emily Waggoner >

Todd Graves
Sam Cooper >
MT Mary Sexton
Nancy Keenan >

Debra Lamm
Patrick Webb
NE Jane Kleeb
Eric Aspengren >

Dan Welch
Kenny Zoeller
NV William McCurdy II
Alana Mounce >

Michael McDonald
Greg Bailor >
NH Raymond Buckley
Amy Kennedy >

Jeannie Forrester resigned eff. 6/30/18
? poldir Todd Cheewing
NJ John Currie Liz Gilbert >

Doug Steinhardt
Theresa Winegar
NM Marg Elliston Joe Kabourek >

Ryan Cangiolsi
Ryan Gleason
NY Byron Brown
Geoff Berman

Ed Cox
Jason Weingartner
NC Wayne Goodwin
Kimberly Reynolds >

Robin Hayes
Dallas Woodhouse
ND Kylie Oversen
Scott McNeil

Kelly Armstrong
Dane Ferguson
OH David Pepper
Greg Beswick

Jane Timken
Rob Secaur
OK Anna Langthorn
[Anna Langthorn] >

Pam Pollard
?
OR Jeanne Atkins
Brad Martin >

Bill Currier
Margie Hughes
PA Jack Hanna, interim
Sinceré A. Harris >

Val DiGiorgio
Mike Stoll >
RI
Joseph McNamara
Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye >

Brandon Bell
?
SC Trav Robertson
Philip Chambers, cos

Drew McKissick
Hope Walker >
SD Ann Tornberg
Sam Parkinson >

Dan Lederman
?
TN Mary Mancini
Jeff Teague >

Scott Golden
Michael Sullivan
TX Gilberto Hinojosa
Crystal Kay Perkins >

James Dickey
Kyle Whatley >
UT Daisy Thomas
Alex Cragun >

Rob Anderson
BJ Griffin >
VT Terje Anderson
Conor Casey >

Deb Billado
?
VA Susan Swecker
Chris Bolling >

John Whitbeck resigning July 2018 John Findlay >
WA Tina Podlodowski
Karen Deal >

Caleb Heimlich
Kaitlin Vintertun >
WV Belinda Biafore
Curt Zickafoose >

Melody Potter
(Drew Constable, poldir)
WI Martha Laning
George Gillis >
B.Hasenzahl-Reeder


Brad Courtney
Mark Morgan
WY Joe Barbuto
Dean Ferguson >

Frank Eathorne
Kristi Wallin
DA Julia Bryan


   
PR Charles Rodriguez


Jenniffer González-Colón
Ricardo Aponte Esq.
AS FagaFaga Daniel LangKilde


Utu Abe Malae

GU Regine Biscoe Lee


Victor Cruz

VI Donna Christensen


John Canegeta

CNMI
Daniel Quitugua -

James Ada








About State Party Leaders
It is interesting to consider the backgrounds of the state chairs and the qualities that make for a good state chair.  Among the factors state party executive committee members consider when looking at a state chair candidate are fundraising ability, media skills, the ability to work with different factions within the party, and ideas for advancing the party.  If the party holds the governorship, the governor may have a strong say in the selection.  Unlike the executive director position, where a candidate may sometimes be brought in from out of state, chairs are usually known within state party ranks; they may have served on or be a member of the executive committee or headed a county committee or been active in campaigns or served on state party staff.  Chairs bring a range of professional experience to the job.  Some are elected officials, others have run for office unsuccessfully, some are lawyers and others may be businessmen.  In a very few instances there are co-chairs.  There is a significant gender imbalance towards males.  As of Nov. 1, 2015 36-percent of the Democratic chairs from the 50 states plus DC were women (18 of 50; there was one vacancy in Kansas with a woman serving as interim chair).

Typically state chair terms run for two years; in a few states the term is four years.  There are veteran chairs who have been re-elected a number of times, freshmen a few months into the job and still learning the ropes, and interim or acting chairs in instances where the incumbent chair has resigned.  Chairs may not serve out their full terms for reasons ranging from pursuing other opportunities including running for public office, health or personal reasons, and dissastisfation with their performance. 

Executive directors run the state parties day to day.  There are a few instances where the chair fulfills both roles.  Many times the executive director will have previous experience at the party, for example as political director or finance director.  Most often the executive director has previous experience in the state's politics, but sometimes he or she will be recruited from outside the state. 

There are structures and mechanisms for state party leaders to communicate and coordinate among themselves and with the national party.  The RNC is a confederation of state parties, and the state chairs carry considerable weight in its decision-making in their place among the 168 members.  At the RNC, NC Chairman Robin Hayes is chairman of the state chairmen (announced Aug. 2017).  On the Democratic side, the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) has as its mission "to help build strong state parties in order to elect Democrats from the State House to the White House."  Minnesota state chair Ken Martin has served as president of the ASDC since Feb. 2017  The Association of State Democratic Executive Directors (ASDED) "fosters professionalism among Executive Directors, seeks to establish and improve avenues of communication among State Parties and their directors, and serves as a conduit for increased communication between the State Parties and the National Party and all its associated bodies."  Brad Martin is president of the ASDED.


ADVERTISEMENT