Republican State Chairman Glenn Paulsen will step down at the end of the year, triggering a special election to pick a new state party chairman.
His resignation was no surprise: Paulsen returned to politics last summer to help Jack Ciattarelli capture the governorship.
Kate Gibbs will also depart as executive director and is expected to return to her position at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825.
“The outcome on Election Day was not what we all had hoped and worked for,” Paulsen and Gibbs said in an email to party leaders. “As planned, we will conclude this cycle’s business and step down from our roles as Chairman and Executive Director effective December 31, 2025.”
They said they will work with state committee members and county chairs to make a plan to pick new leadership in advance of the 2026 and 2027 elections.
“It has been an honor to serve and to fight for a cause in which we continue to believe – that the best days for our state, and our state party, are still ahead,” they said.
Possible candidates for GOP state chair include Hunterdon County Republican Chairman Gabe Plumer, Passaic County Republican Chairman Peter Murphy, Rosemary Becchi, who ran for Congress against now-Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in 2020, and Matt Gould, a lobbyist and former Senate staff who managed Jon Bramnick’s campaign for governor in 2025.
