Oregon Republican Party (ORP) chair Dallas Heard is resigning, his spirit “broken” by the nefarious forces that apparently plague his party.
Heard sent a fire-and-brimstone letter to the state’s party members earlier this week informing them that effective March 11, he will be stepping down because “my physical and spiritual health can no longer survive exposure to the toxicity that can be found in this community.”
“I must warn you good people in our party that we truly have an equal if not greater evil than the Democrats, walking among us,” Heard wrote in his screed.
“Communist psychological warfare tactics” are being used within the ORP to “destroy anyone of true character,” according to the chair, and members must “purge this darkness” from the party.
“I bitterly regret that my body and soul were not able to withstand the endless assault,” he wrote. “I hope you will guard your hearts against the wickedness in our party and keep fighting the good fight for our children and those who truly love this state.”
Though Heard didn’t mention anyone by name in the letter, he told the News-Review on Wednesday that ORP National Committee chair Solomon Yue and a group of less than 30 other people had been “wickedly intent” on crushing him for the last 13 months.
Heard, who also serves as a state senator, said he was planning to stay in office but wouldn’t be running for reelection.
The departing GOP chair is a far-right conservative who cheered on the anti-COVID measures protest at the Oregon state Capitol on Dec. 21, 2020, during which the mob broke into the building with help from the now-expelled state Rep. Mike Nearman (R).
“I’m in full support of your right to enter your Capitol building,” Heard told the protesters.
He also egged on the Trump supporters who were protesting outside the state Capitol on Jan. 6 last year, telling them through a megaphone, “Don’t let any of these punks from that stone temple over there ever tell you that they are any better than you. Trust me, I work with these fools.”
Heard’s repeatedly railed against Oregon’s mask mandate, which culminated in the Senate voting to kick him out of the Capitol last month after he refused to wear a mask inside.
The senator also voted against bills, even ones he supported, out of protest over the Capitol being closed to the public, according to OPB News.
ORP officials had recently rejected Heard’s request for support for a potential gubernatorial bid, which he ultimately didn’t go for.
