Kansas Democratic Party Chairman John Gibson has announced he will not seek re-election as the party’s leader at this year’s Washington Days convention.
The party’s vice chair, Vicki Hiatt, said on Facebook she plans to run for the party chair at the convention set for March 1 and 2 in Topeka.
In a post on Facebook today, Gibson said he was proud to step aside as chairman after seeing the election of a new Democratic governor and Democratic congresswoman in the 3rd Congressional District.
Elected party chair in 2017, Gibson said he was proud to lead the party through “one of the most critical elections of my lifetime.”
“I wouldn’t trade these past two years for all of the world, but I also know that now is the time for me to step back from the job of chair,” he said in the post. “Aside from my family, there’s nothing in my life that I am prouder of than what we accomplished together as Democrats in Kansas.”
Among other things, Gibson said he was proud to see Democrats organize into county parties across the state. There are now more than 75 Kansas counties with an active local party, he said in the post.
“Most importantly of all, we brought thousands and thousands of new people into the Democratic Party, from retired women becoming activists for the first time, to college students learning how to register their classmates to vote, to new citizens looking to put their often hard-won freedoms to use,” Gibson wrote.
“Credit for our victories, from school board races to the governor’s office, belong to our volunteers, our party leaders and officers, and of course the brave candidates who carried our banner.
“I’ve been privileged to be the lead cheerleader for those efforts, and that’s a joy I will take with me to my grave,” he wrote.
Hiatt, meanwhile, posted her intentions on Facebook to run for party chairwoman. She took time to praise Gibson as well.
“His integrity and strong sense of doing what’s best for Democrats and Kansans helped us win throughout the state and win back the governorship as well as a congressional district.
“I have appreciated the opportunity to learn from him,” she wrote.
