Please join us for the monthly meeting of Eastside Republican Club on Tuesday, October 8, at 6:30 PM. We’ll meet at the Hilton Garden Inn, 16630 Redmond Way in Redmond. See the Location page for driving directions, a map, and parking information. Food is available from the Fork and Spoke restaurant in the hotel, which is open from 5-9PM for dinner; you can preview the menu on ZMenu. Please RSVP if you plan to attend!
WAGOP Chair Rep. Jim Walsh
Our special guest this month is Jim Walsh, chair of the Washington State Republican Party. Jim has represented the 19th Legislative District in the Washington State House since 2016, when he stunned state politics by becoming the first Republican that LD19 had sent to Olympia in decades. While some media outlets focused on him breaking a “Blue Wall” in a traditionally Democrat district, Jim explains his election—and subsequent re-elections—in nonpartisan terms: “The people of LD19 don’t care so much about Republican or Democrat. They just want someone who will represent them and their values with passion and energy.”
In 2020 and 2022, Jim was re-elected with more than 60 percent of the vote and, more importantly, helped turned his region “Red” by organizing and supporting a wave election of conservative legislators, county commissioners and local officials. Jim has served in leadership positions on various policy and budget committees in the WA House: Ranking Member on the State Government and Tribal Relations Committee, Assistant Ranking Member on the Transportation Committee and—most recently— Ranking Member on the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee. He has also served on the House Education, Capital Budget, Human Services and Rural Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committees.
During his seven years in the legislature, Jim has received Legislator of the Year awards from numerous groups—including Citizens Alliance for Property Rights (CAPR), Citizens’ Voice, Gunowners of America, Permanent Offense and Hunters’ Heritage Foundation. In 2022, he received the Washington State Republican Party’s Kemper Freeman Courage Award for his work articulating common-sense, conservative values.
He appears regularly on radio and television in Washington state, including KXRO, KTTH, KVI, KBKW and KEDO. Jim is a widower—his wife, Jamie, was killed tragically in car accident in the fall of 2022. He and the youngest two of his five children live Aberdeen, in a 19th Century Victorian home that he and Jamie bought and began restoring in the early 2000s. The Walsh children range in age from 31 to 17.
Aside from his work in the legislature, Jim owns and operates Silver Lake Publishing—a technical publisher that specializes in insurance, risk management, cyber security, asset protection and related nonfiction topics.
We look forward to hearing from Jim about the upcoming election and state issues. We’ll also hear from other state and local Republican candidates!
Please RSVP!
If you plan to attend the meeting, please click RSVP to register, and pay online in advance. The cost is $15 per person ($10 for College Republicans and Young Republicans) to cover the cost of the meeting space. Food is available from the Fork and Spoke restaurant in the hotel, which is open from 5-9PM for dinner; you can preview the menu on ZMenu.
