Elizabeth Diers
For The Skamania Observer

Former Republican Governors candidate Loren Culp has taken on a new job as the jail administrator for Klickitat County's jail following two unsuccessful runs for state and federal offices.

Loren Culp was born in Everett, Washington, and grew up on a farm in Nordland, Washington. His father served as a Washington State Patrol officer and county sheriff's deputy before establishing a hardware store in Republic, Washington. After leaving high school, Culp enlisted in the United States Army in 1980 and worked as a combat engineer and drill sergeant before returning to Washington in 1988. He started a construction business in the Puget Sound region, which he managed for two decades before selling it and moving to Republic in 2010 to join the police department as an officer.

During his time as a police officer, Culp worked as a patrol officer, narcotics detective, and police dog handler. He was eventually promoted to the police chief of Republic, which had a population of 1,100 citizens at the time. He later became the only police officer in the city due to budget cuts. In 2020 the city council of Republic voted to defund the police department with a vote of three in favor and one against, and Culp was back-doored out of his job.

In the 2020 Washington governor election, Culp ran against incumbent Governor Jay Inslee. Following his success in the primaries, Culp advanced to the general election, where he garnered 1.7 million votes, marking the highest-ever number of votes for a Republican candidate in the office. Despite this achievement, Culp was ultimately unsuccessful in his run to unseat Governor Inslee.

Following his run for governor, Culp launched a campaign for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. He sought to unseat the incumbent Republican representative, Dan Newhouse, in Washington's 4th Congressional District. Culp's campaign platform centered around his opposition to Newhouse's decision to vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. Notably, Culp secured an endorsement from the former president but ultimately failed to advance beyond the August primaries.

Culp was recruited by Sheriff Bob Songer, a constitutional law enforcement officer who refused to enforce Governor Inslee's emergency lockdown mandates during the pandemic. Culp and Songer are passionate advocates of the Second Amendment. In 2018, they both refused to implement Initiative 1639, which expanded the definition of "semiautomatic assault rifle" and raised the minimum age for purchasing such rifles to 21. They publicly announced their decision not to enforce the law, which garnered both positive and negative attention from both sides of the political spect
rum. As a result of their unwavering stance on individual rights, Culp was named "Police Chief of the Decade," and Songer received "Sheriff of the Year" by the Constitutional Sheriff and Police Chief's Association.

Culp has been appointed as the new Chief Jail Deputy and will be third in command at the Klickitat County Sheriff's office. In this new capacity, he will serve as the jail administrator and will be tasked with ensuring the safety and well-being of inmates. He will also supervise the 14 corrections deputies assigned to the facility and manage the transportation of detainees to and from the courthouse and other jurisdictions. The position comes with an annual salary of $94,162.

"Loren is a true professional with ten years of law enforcement experience and served as police chief for the City of Republic, Washington. We are happy to have him as a member of the Klickitat County Sheriff," Said Songer in a press release.

Culp is the author of two books titled American Cop and An Insubordinate Life: From Country Boy to Candidate for Governor. In his book description, he wrote, "I decided to write this book after about 18 months of campaigning for governor of Washington State and after about 60 years of waking up every morning 'sucking air.' I'm not writing this to say, 'Look at me' or 'I'm great, read about me.' An Insubordinate Life is about my life's adventures – some good, some tragic. I hope to show you that it doesn't matter who you are or what your background is; YOU matter, and YOU can do anything you set your mind to."