Washington-state voters in the 2020 election gave erstwhile presidential candidate Jay Inslee his third term as governor. Inslee beat his Republican challenger, Loren Culp, by a 57.2% to 42.8% margin.
Culp has refused to concede, claiming “irregularities. “Something smells fishy,” he told his Facebook followers. But of course he offered no evidence.
Culp had taken a leave of absence from his job as police chief of the town of Republic to campaign for governor. Republic (population 1,100) is in the deep-red northeastern part of the state, near the Canadian border.
Chief Culp had previously been in the news with his declaration that a gun-regulation initiative passed by Washington voters in 2018 violated both the state and federal constitutions and he would not allow his officers to enforce them.
Declining tax revenues later prompted the city of Republic to reduce the size of its police force to one. Loren Culp was chief and sole employee of the department. While he was on leave campaigning, the city contracted with the Ferry County sheriff’s department for police services.
The arrangement with Ferry County apparently worked well, as Republic has de-funded its police department. Loren Culp now has no job to go back to. “Not even a letter or thank you. Not a plaque for 10 years of service,” said Culp.