North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes won’t seek re-election to the post after all, the former congressman announced Monday.

Hayes said the state GOP’s convention in June will be his last leading the party. Convention delegates will choose his successor.

The 73-year-old Hayes had initially decided to seek another two-year term, but in a news release from the party he said complications from recent hip surgery led him to change his mind.

Hayes also said it’s a “good time to pass the torch to our strong bullpen of Republican Party leaders.”

Hayes served as chairman from 2011 to 2013, then returned in 2016 after the ouster of Chairman Hasan Harnett.

After serving two terms in the General Assembly, Hayes was the 8th District congressman from 1999 through 2008. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1996, losing to Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt.

The GOP news release focused on political successes while Hayes was chairman, including presidential vote victories in North Carolina for Mitt Romney in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016.

Hayes was heavily involved in bringing the 2020 Republican Convention to Charlotte. He will keep his position on the convention host committee.

Hayes “has been one of the most successful NCGOP chairs ever,” U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said in the release. “The NCGOP has never been stronger thanks to Robin’s dedicated leadership over the last decade.”

A new election was ordered in the 9th Congressional District for late this year after evidence emerged that a political operative in rural Bladen County working for Republican Mark Harris’ campaign last year was illegally collecting ballots.

The next party chairman will work to guide the party through a 2020 election in which races for president, governor and U.S. Senate will be on state ballots. All 170 seats in the General Assembly also will be up for re-election, with control of the 2021 redistricting at stake.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper won in 2016. Democrats made legislative seat gains in 2018 that ended the GOP’s veto-proof control, but Republicans still hold House and Senate majorities.

Related Stories
‹
North Carolina to Relax 10-Person Limit for GOP Convention
North Carolina will ease gathering restrictions for the Republican National Convention in Charlotte this month after a push by the national party for the state to be more accommodating. But the Aug. 21-24 event culminating in President Donald Trump’s nomination will be nothing like conventions of previous years in which prominent politicians and party leaders […]
North Carolina GOP Rep. Grange Enters 2020 Governor's Race
A North Carolina state legislator entered the 2020 Republican gubernatorial race Thursday, a decision that denies Lt. Gov. Dan Forest a cleared path to the GOP nomination after preparing for years for a bid. State Rep. Holly Grange of Wilmington announced her candidacy in a campaign video that highlighted her as one of the first female West […]
North Carolina Republicans Pick Whatley as State Party Head
North Carolina Republicans want a Gaston County energy-industry consultant with lots of Washington experience to head the state party for the next two years. The state Republican Party convention on Saturday elected Michael Whatley as its chairman. He takes over for former Congressman Robin Hayes. Hayes faces federal criminal charges that he helped a big […]
Postal Service Work To Comply With Trump’s Executive Order Is Rushed and Sloppy, a Whistleblower Contends
The U.S. Postal Service is poised to launch a hastily built, error-riddled computer system that could jeopardize the process of mail voting.
Longtime Chatham County Educator Wins $10 Million Lottery Prize
The North Carolina Education Lottery office revealed that Jean Johnson, who teaches in Chatham County, is the winner of a $10 million prize.
Theodore Nollert on North Carolina's Budget Corrections Bill and Its Process – On Air Today (August 26, 2026)
Theodore Nollert — the directory of policy for Carolina Forward and a Chapel Hill Town Council member — joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell on Wednesday, August 26.
UNC Health Expands, Rebrands Venture Capital Efforts of Emerging Tech
The statewide healthcare system announced Rex Health Ventures platform is now UNC Health Ventures and will use $125 million to invest in emerging health tech companies.
Corporate Tax Cuts, Prediction Market Leeway, and Underfunding Education: Why Orange County's Legislators Voted Against NC's Budget
All three of Orange County’s state representatives voted against North Carolina's updated budget, citing issues with its contents and construction.
On the Porch: Dr. James Wood - Sports Around the World
This Week: James Wood is currently Professor of Latin American and modern world history at North Carolina A&T State University. He is the author of The Society of Equality: Popular Republicanism and Democracy in Santiago de Chile, 1818-1851 and the co-editor of "Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations", now in its fifth edition with Rowman and Littlefield. As a Fulbright scholar for Chile in 2016 he was a visiting professor at the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago (where he observed Chilean student activism up close).
On the Porch: Bill Brown - Art and Science Merge at NCMA
This Week: Bill Brown joined the North Carolina Museum of Art as a Conservation Intern in 1988. Thirty-two years later he retired from the Art Museum as Chief Conservator.  He received his M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Conservation from State University College at Buffalo, NY in 1989. At the Museum, he established the Art + Science Initiative, a collaborative program with Duke University math and science departments. Bill has a passion for Italian Old Master Paintings of the 14th to 18th century. He works part-time as a conservator in private practice and provides conservation support for the Museum and Gallery collection of old master paintings at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC . He enjoys retirement with his wife and young adult son.
›