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Virginia GOP Chair Mark Peake to Step Down at Year’s End After 2025 Rout

Vice Chair Kristi Way becomes acting leader pending a State Central Committee vote.

Overview

  • Peake said he is resigning to focus on the upcoming legislative session and opposing a Democratic-backed redistricting referendum targeted for an April 2026 ballot with 45 days of early voting.
  • The move follows Democrats capturing all three statewide offices and gaining roughly a dozen or more seats in the House of Delegates.
  • Loudoun County GOP chair Scott Pio urged Peake to leave sooner and demanded further resignations, threatening to expose internal "dirty laundry" and singling out Kristi Way.
  • The party says the State Central Committee will select a new chair to complete Peake’s term, with Kristi Way serving in the interim.
  • Peake’s tenure lasted about eight months after he succeeded Rich Anderson, who departed in April for a federal appointment.