NC Republicans select new party chair backed by Trump
The North Carolina Republican Party’s new leader has the backing of former President Donald Trump as the GOP gears up for the 2024 elections. Jason Simmons, a Wake County resident and former executive director of the party, was elected Tuesday as chair of the state GOP after former chair Michael Whatley was elected head of the Republican National Committee.
Simmons was selected by executive committee members. More than 400 delegates were present for the vote, which was held at The Farm at 95 in Selma. Simmons won with 289 votes out of 419 votes. Jim Womack, chair of the Lee County GOP, was Simmons’ opponent.
Simmons, who became executive director of the state party in 2021, previously worked for Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.
He received a standing ovation when his name was announced as the winner Tuesday night.
“I’m honored to be chosen by my fellow Republicans to lead our party into the most important election in our lifetime,” Simmons said in a news release. “There is much work to be done to win North Carolina for President Trump, Lt. Gov. Robinson in the governor’s mansion, maintain our super majorities in the General Assembly, and win four statewide judicial races. I’m ready to hit the ground running.”
In a letter to committee members announcing his candidacy earlier this month, Simmons said he shared a similar vision as Whatley.
“I am committed to raising the money it takes to recruit, train and deploy volunteers across the state – volunteers who will work in the field to drive victories up and down the ballot,” Simmons said. “We will get out the vote and protect the ballot here in North Carolina. Our ground game and our election integrity efforts will be the national standard.”
Trump voiced his support for Simmons on Truth Social earlier this month.
“Jason Simmons has been with me since Day One, and has been key to our many Republican victories in the Tar Heel State,” he wrote.
Immanuel Jarvis, chairman of Durham County’s GOP nominated Simmons for the state party’s top role during Tuesday night’s meeting.
The party usually selects its chair at a party convention in an oddnumbered year, but Whatley’s early resignation, which became official during Tuesday night’s meeting, meant that the executive committee had to select a replacement to finish his term that expires in June 2025.
Whatley took the podium shortly before 8 p.m. and thanked the delegates for what they’ve done for the party and for
North Carolina.
After the meeting, Whatley celebrated Simmons’ win and said he looks forward to working closely with him to ensure Republican wins in North Carolina.
SIMMONS FACED COMPETITION FROM OTHER PARTY MEMBERS
At least two other candidates sought the chair position, but were not chosen by the executive committee.
State Treasurer Dale Folwell nominated Womack while Davie County GOP chairwoman Linda Maze nominated Marcus Kindley, former chair of the Guilford County GOP.
Kindley announced his candidacy in an email to the executive committee last week. He raised concerns about Simmons, suggesting he had made decisions that allowed party leaders to influence Republican primaries — a violation of the party’s rules.
He wrote that the intent of that rule was “to prevent internal conflicts within the party and maintain unity during primary elections. The recent deviation from this principle by the current party leadership is concerning and warrants immediate attention.”
But on Tuesday night, as candidates made speeches, Kindley announced he would drop out from the race and back Womack.
Womack, who also leads an election integrity organization that pushes for stricter voting laws, has run for chair twice before — once in 2017 and again in 2019.
In a video announcing his candidacy, Womack noted his military service and his experience as a Lee County commissioner, where he “found that what I loved more than serving as an elected official was helping other people get elected.”
WHATLEY TO LEAD RNC
Whatley was elected chair of the RNC this month, having received Trump’s endorsement to replace former Chair Ronna McDaniel.
Throughout his tenure as chair of the NC GOP, Whatley frequently repeated Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
The New York Times reported that Whatley’s support of these false claims made him a top candidate for Trump, with one of their sources describing Whatley as a “stop the steal guy.”
Under Whatley’s leadership in North Carolina, Republicans gained a majority on the state Supreme Court and achieved supermajorites in both chambers of the legislature.
After winning a third term as chair of the state party last year, Whatley came under fire for the way his election was conducted.
At the party convention, organizers used an app to conduct elections for party leadership. The app allegedly did not track a user’s location — potentially allowing people not on the convention floor to vote in violation of the rules.
Attendees of the convention sued the party, alleging irregularities in the leadership elections. A judge later threw out the lawsuit.