State Party Chairs and Executive Directors 2019-20

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. 

updated as of Feb. 21, 2019, expect a fair bit of turnover as party leadership elections are held during the year ..  (older editions 2018  2016  2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010)

  Dem. Chair   Ex. Dir.  

Rep. Chair  

Ex. Dir.  
AL Nancy Worley
N/A

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

Glenn Clary
N/A
AZ Felecia Rotellini
Herschel Fink >

Kelli Ward
Kyle Pierce
AR Michael John Gray
Karyn Coleman

Doyle Webb Sarah Jo Reynolds >
CA Alex Rooker
Chris Myers

Feb. 22-24 Conv.: Travis Allen, Jessica Paterson or Steve Frank
Cynthia Bryant
CO Morgan Carroll
Pilar Chapa >

Jeff Hayes
Shana Banberger >
CT Nancy Wyman
Jacqueline Kozin

JR Romano
Rebecca Michlin
DE Erik Raser-Schramm
Jesse Chadderdon >

Mike Harrington Sr.
Emilly Taylor
DC Charles Wilson
Natasha McKenzie

José Cunningham
?
FL Terrie Rizzo
Juan Peñalosa >

Joe Gruters
Jennifer Locetta
GA Nikema Williams
Rebecca DeHart >
/Christian Woods

John K. Watson
Stewart Bragg
HI Keali'l Lopez
Beth Fukumoto

Shirlene Ostrov
Marcia Tagavilla
ID Bert Marley
Elle Casner >

Feb. '19: Acting Chair Jennifer Locke
Summer '19: Election
Frank Terraferma
IL Michael Madigan Mary Morrissey

Tim Schneider
Drew Collins
IN John Zody
N/A

Kyle Hupfer
Pete Seat >
IA Troy Price
Kevin Geiken >

Jeff Kaufmann
Chad Olsen >
KS John Gibson
Ethan Corson >

Mike Kuckleman
?
KY Ben Self
Mary Nishimuta

Mac Brown
Sarah Van Wallaghen
LA Karen Carter Peterson
Stephen Handwerk >

Louis Gurvich
Andrew Bautsch
ME Kathleen Marra
Katie Mae Simpson >

Demi Kouzounas
Jason Savage
MD Maya Rockeymoore Cummings
Ben Smith

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

Jim Lyons
Wendy Wakeman
MI Lavora Barnes
Christy Jensen

Feb. 23 Conv.: Laura Cox or Gina Barr
Colleen Pero, cos
MN Ken Martin
Sally Miller

Jennifer Carnahan
Kevin Poindexter
MS Bobby Moak
N/A

Lucien Smith
?
MO Jean Peters Baker
Lauren Gepford

Todd Graves
Sam Cooper >
MT Mary Sexton
Monica Lindeen

Debra Lamm
?
NE Jane Kleeb
Jim Rogers

Dan Welch
Ryan Hamilton
NV William McCurdy II
Alana Mounce >

Michael McDonald
William Sexauer
NH Raymond Buckley
Amy Kennedy >

Stephen Stepenek
?
NJ John Currie Liz Gilbert >

Doug Steinhardt
Theresa Winegar >
NM Marg Elliston Joe Kabourek >

Steve Pearce
?
NY Byron Brown
Greg Beswick

Ed Cox
Jason Weingartner
NC Wayne Goodwin
Kimberly Reynolds >

Robin Hayes
Dallas Woodhouse
ND Warren Larson
Scott McNeil

Rick Berg
COS Dawson Schefter
State Dir. Ken Nunnenkamp
OH David Pepper
Greg Beswick

Jane Timken
Rob Secaur
OK Anna Langthorn
N/A

Pam Pollard
?
OR Jeanne Atkins
Brad Martin >

Bill Currier
?
PA Nancy Mills
Sinceré A. Harris >

Val DiGiorgio
Mike Stoll >
RI
Joseph McNamara
Kevin Olasanoye >

Brandon Bell
?
SC Trav Robertson
N/A

Drew McKissick
Hope Walker >
SD Ann Tornberg
Sam Parkinson >

Dan Lederman
?
TN Mary Mancini
Jeff Teague >

Scott Golden
Michael Sullivan
TX Gilberto Hinojosa
Manny Garcia

James Dickey
Kyle Whatley >
UT Daisy Thomas
Alex Cragun >

Rob Anderson
?
VT Terje Anderson
Josh Massey

Deb Billado
?
VA Susan Swecker
Chris Bolling >

Jack R. Wilson John Findlay
WA Tina Podlodowski
Karen Deal >

Caleb Heimlich
Kaitlin Vintertun >
WV Belinda Biafore
Curt Zickafoose >

Melody Potter
Drew Constable
WI Martha Laning
Devin Remiker
B.Hasenzahl-Reeder

Brad Courtney
Mark Morgan
WY Joe Barbuto
Dean Ferguson >

Frank Eathorne
Kristi Wallin
DA Julia Bryan
N/A

 -  -
PR Charles Rodriguez
Larissa Costa

Jenniffer González-Colón

AS Daniel LangKilde
Andrew Berquist



GU Regine Biscoe Lee
James Servino



VI Cecil R. Benjamin
Garry Molloy



CNMI
Daniel Quitugua -










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. 

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.


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