Virginia Republican Party chairman to resign, following state GOP losing governorship, state House

The leader of the Virginia Republican Party will resign at the end of the year, following the party last month's election losses that included losing the governorship. 

Party Chairman state Sen. Mark Peake in announcing his departure said his decision was based on the desire to be "fully" focused on his legislative duties. 

“As a state Senator, I will be fully engrossed in our legislative session, which lasts from January-March,” Peake wrote in his resignation letter Tuesday, according to 29News. 

“Accordingly, I will be stepping down so that the RPV can elect a new chairman who will be able to devote their full-time, energy, and attention to defeating this Referendum and then leading us to victory in the 2026 U.S. Senate and Congressional races.”

In addition to losing the governorship, Republicans in early November also lost lieutenant governor and attorney general offices, while Democrats increased their majority in the state House.

Virginia GOP Executive Director Ken Nunnenkamp told 29News that the State Central Committee will elect a new chairman to serve the remainder of Peake’s term, which ends in 2028.

Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told the news outlet that it’s not surprising that Peake is stepping down, but that there wasn’t much he could have done to improve his party’s fate.

“The Republican Party of Virginia could’ve had the worst chairman ever or the best chairman ever, and my guess is it probably wouldn’t have made that big a difference,” Kondik said. “Everyone on the Republican side I guess bears some share of the blame, but I think as soon as Donald Trump got elected, I think the results here might have been pretty well set.”