Loren Culp

Loren Culp is an American politician, businessman, and law enforcement officer from Washington serving as the police chief of Republic, Washington. He is running for Governor of Washington in the 2020 election. He is one of two candidates, along with incumbent Jay Inslee to have advanced to the general election, having received approximately 17% of the vote in the primary.[1][2][3]

Loren Culp
Personal details
Born1961 (age 58–59)
Everett, Washington, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceRepublic, Washington
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army

Early life

Culp was born in Everett, Washington, and raised on a farm in Nordland, Washington. Culp joined the United States Army in 1980, where he was a combat engineer and drill sergeant before returning to Washington in 1988.[4]

Career

After leaving the Army, Culp operated a construction business in the Puget Sound region for 20 years. He then sold the business and moved to Republic, Washington, where he began working as a police officer. During his time as an officer, Culp worked as a patrol officer, narcotics detective and police dog handler.[4]

While serving as police chief of Republic, Washington in 2018, Washington Initiative 1639 was passed through a ballot initiative. The law amended gun laws in Washington by defining the term "semiautomatic assault rifle" to include all semiautomatic rifles, and raising the minimum age for purchasing semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21. In response, Culp publicly announced that he would not enforce the law in Republic.[5] He later appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight and proposed that Republic, Washington would become a "gun sanctuary."[6]

A lawsuit was filed against Culp and two law enforcement officers in 2017 by a sexual abuse victim who had been denied an investigation by the Ferry County Sheriff. The case was investigated by authorities in Benton County, resulting in the arrest and conviction of a male relative for first-degree child molestation.[7][8]

Personal life

Culp and his wife have two sons.[9]

References
  1. "Republic Police Chief Loren Culp emerges to challenge Inslee's run for third term". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  2. "Loren Culp advances to November election for governor in Washington state". Associated Press. August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  3. "Inslee Advances in Washington Gubernatorial Primary". The New York Times. August 5, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  4. Pinkerton, Rachal (February 4, 2020). "Gubernatorial candidate visits Quincy". Columbia Basin Herald. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  5. Carlson, John. "Five Republicans to watch in Washington's primary election | Crosscut". Crosscut.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  6. "Police chief who opposed gun initiative runs for governor as 'law and order' candidate". king5.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  7. Sokol, Chad (July 20, 2020). "Washington governor candidate Loren Culp faces lawsuit over child sex abuse investigation". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  8. Brunner, Jim (July 2, 2020). "Lawsuit accuses GOP gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp of mishandling child sex-abuse investigation". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  9. Snohomish County Local Voters’ Pamphlet August 4, 2020 Primary
Party political offices
Preceded by
Bill Bryant		 Republican nominee for Governor of Washington
2020		 Most recent
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