NC GOP elects Trump-endorsed Simmons as new party chair

The North Carolina Republican Party didn’t have to look far to find its new chairman.

Members of the state party’s executive committee elected Jason Simmons to be the party’s new chair. Simmons, the state party’s executive director since 2021, defeated Jim Womack for the seat. Womack is a longtime county party leader who ran for the position several times.

"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 press release announcing the result Tuesday night.

“There is much work to be done to win North Carolina for President Trump, put Lt. Governor Robinson in the Governor’s Mansion, maintain our supermajorities in the General Assembly, and win four statewide judicial races. I’m ready to hit the ground running," Simmons said. His term as chairman extends to June 2025.

Simmons replaces Michael Whatley, who members elected to the role in 2019. Whatley is leaving to lead the Republican National Committee.

"I'm excited for Jason to take over as Chairman, and I look forward to working closely with him to ensure we win North Carolina for President Trump and elect Republicans up and down the ballot," Whatley said in a statement.

Robinson, the GOP's gubernatorial nominee, congratulated Simmons in a social media post.

"I am excited to work with him and the NC GOP team to help Republicans win up and down the ballot across North Carolina in November – and to advance the conservative principles that will help our state turn the page on the radical policies and failed agenda of liberal Democrats like Joe Biden and Josh Stein," Robinson posted. Stein, North Carolina's Attorney General, is the Democratic Party's nominee for governor.

Whatley hired Simmons as executive director in 2021, and together, they helped North Carolina Republicans secure major accomplishments in the 2022 elections. That year, Republicans gained control of the state Supreme Court, the state Court of Appeals, and enough seats to secure veto-proof supermajorities in the state House and the Senate.

Those wins were a factor in former President Donald Trump’s decision to endorse Whatley for RNC chairman and Simmons for chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.

Trump endorsed Simmons in a social media post 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,” the post read.

Before becoming the party’s executive director in 2021, Simmons worked for Trump’s presidential campaigns and as a regional political director for the RNC. Simmons campaigned on that experience, telling party members that they couldn’t afford a change in leadership so close to a presidential election.

“Now is not the time for any on-the-job training,” Simmons recently wrote to committee members, according to the Associated Press.