By Constitution Staff

Matt Pinnell, who has served as chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party for the last three years, did not run for reelection to the post this year and said he was pursuing other job opportunities evaluate a number of opportunities in the public and private sectors. In April, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus announced the appointment of Pinnell as the new RNC State Party Director. Pinnell will report directly to Chairman Priebus in addition to Political Director Chris McNulty. Pinnell will serve as the chief liaison between the Republican National Committee and the state parties.

Pinnell was appointed in 2010 as "Chairman of the State Chairmen" by Priebus. In his role as Chairman of the RNC's State Chairmen's Committee, Pinnell directed the sharing of ideas and best practices among the nation's state Republican leaders. Making the announcement, Chairman Priebus said: "At the RNC, we're revamping our entire political field operation to be bottom-up and community based. That means the 50 state parties and territories must take a leading role. As a former local and state party chair, I understand the importance of close coordination and collaboration with the national RNC office. The future of all fifty state parties and territorial parties will be Matt's top priority. He will ensure we're giving state parties the support they need, so they can in turn support and empower the work of grassroots activists and volunteers. They are the heart of our party, and our political structure should be one that allows ideas to flow from the individuals on the ground up to RNC leaders -- not the other way around."

Pinnell, 33, became Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party on June 26, 2010, and was re-elected in May of 2011 to a full two-year term. Until recently, he was the youngest State Chairman in the country. In 2010, Pinnell oversaw the most successful election cycle for Oklahoma Republicans in state history -- helping sweep all eight statewide races and expanding majorities in both the state house and senate. During the 2008 election cycle Pinnell had served as the "Oklahoma Victory" Director for the McCain-Palin ticket, helping sweep all 77 counties for John McCain. McCain won 65.4 percent of the vote in Oklahoma, the highest percentage of any state in the nation.

Pinnell spent three years in Washington, D.C., in the field of grassroots advocacy and legislative affairs for the American International Auto Dealers Association (AIADA) and the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). He is a former campaign aide to U.S. Congressman Steve Largent, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, and U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. He is a graduate of Oral Roberts University and lives in Tulsa with his wife Lisa and their three children.