Sen. Mark Peake has announced he is running for chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia after the current chair, Rich Anderson, was tapped by the Trump administration to serve as the assistant secretary for the Air Force.
The Lynchburg Republican said he will seek to be a unifier if elected to the role, particularly in the 5th Congressional District. The 5th District, which overlaps with Peake’s state Senate district, saw fractures within the party during a bitter primary between former Congressman Bob Good and then-state Sen. John McGuire in June.
“I think that might be, hopefully, part of my appeal — I’ve tried to get along with everyone in the 5th,” Peake said in a phone call Wednesday. “The most important thing is to have our Republican candidates win elections. I get along with John McGuire, I like John a lot. I’ve gotten along well with Bob and his supporters, and we are going to move forward.”
Anderson will need to be confirmed by a U.S. Senate panel before he can start in his new role, and the date for the confirmation hearing has yet to be determined.
Anderson, an Air Force veteran, was elected party chair in 2020 and reelected during the state party’s convention in June. Ken Nunnenkamp, RPV’s executive director, hadn’t responded to an email asking when the election for the new chair would take place by the time of publication.
Peake is the only Republican seeking the seat, so far
Peake was the only name in the race as of Wednesday. He has collected endorsements from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Del. Wendell Walker, R-Lynchburg, among others.
“Mark Peake is a trusted conservative who has been at the forefront of defending our Commonwealth from the backward priorities of the far left progressive majority in the Virginia Senate,” Youngkin said in a post on X on Wednesday. “Mark Peake has the complete endorsement of myself, Lieutenant Governor [Winsome Earle] Sears, and Attorney General [Jason] Miyares for chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.”
Endorsements from Sears and Miyares were not noted on either of their social media platforms at the time of publication.
“The only focus right now is to make sure we win in November,” Peake said. “As far as being chair of RPV during [the 2025 election], we have got to raise funds and we’ve got to support our candidates with the proper infrastructure whether it’s volunteers or voter lists or any other type of support we can give.”
Peake said if he’s elected chair, his hope is to boost staff across the commonwealth to support efforts to get out the vote in November.
Democrats are also searching for a new party chair.
Susan Swecker, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, announced her decision to step down in February. Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond; activist and organizer Josh Stanfield; and the party’s 10th Congressional District chair, Zach Pruckowski, have announced their candidacy for the seat.
The Democrats’ next chair will be selected during a meeting March 22, according to reporting by the Virginia Mercury.