affairs consultant, a member of the management team of King County Assessor John Wilson, serves as a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center, is an adjunct professor at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs, and is a frequent media commentator on Washington State politics. On September 8, 2015, Vance announced that he was running for the United States Senate. During the campaign he stated that could not support Donald Trump for President. Vance lost by a significant margin in 2016 to incumbent Democrat Patty Murray, who received the most votes ever in a United States Senate election in Washington state. In 2017, Vance joined the American Civil Liberties Union. On March 15, 2022, Vance announced he was running for the Washington State Senate as an independent in the same 31st district he represented in the State House 30 years earlier. Departure from Republican Party On September 29, 2017, Vance announced on KUOW's "Week in Review" podcast that he had left the Republican Party, saying the following: I now consider myself an independent. I am no longer a Republican after 36 years...For years I've seen the party move away from things I believed in...It didn't begin with Trump, but he certainly accelerated the process...I just don't agree with [the Republican Party] on 90% of the issues they talk about today. Vance said he would be focusing future efforts on helping to establish an independent centrist movement in the country and would encourage Independents across the country to run for office. A month earlier, Vance had formally announced his support of and participation in the Centrist Project, with the goal of electing enough centrist candidates that Republicans and Democrats would have to negotiate with each other. Never Trump movement Vance joined The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor in 2020. He endorsed Joe Biden for president in the 2020 election. From February until December 2021, Vance was a signatory for the Stand Up Republic affiliated 'A Call for American Renewal' manifesto. This manifesto sought to oust Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican candidate for president in 2024 and dismantle or replace the Republican Party. References External links Washington State Republican Party Officers |- 1962 births 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections King County Councillors Living people Members of the Washington House of Representatives People from Auburn, Washington State political party chairs of Washington (state)