Robert Steven Chase (born August 2, 1953) is an American politician and businessman. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was a member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from the 4th district. Elected in 2020, he assumed office on January 11, 2021.

Education

Chase earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

Career

Chase is a former

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

. In 2002, he unsuccessfully ran for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

as a

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties * Outline of libertarianism ...

candidate against Republican incumbent

George Nethercutt George Rector Nethercutt Jr. (born October 7, 1944) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. Nethercutt is the founder and chairman of The George Nethercutt Foundation. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representative ...

; in the 2002

blanket primary The blanket primary is a system used for selecting political party candidates in a primary election, used in Argentina and historically in the United States. In a blanket primary, voters may pick one candidate for each office without regard to par ...

, he won 5% of the vote. In 2010, Chase won election as

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...

treasurer; as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

, he qualified in the primary election for the general election ballot, and went on to defeat Democratic incumbent Skip Chillberg. He was reelected to the position in 2014, defeating fellow Republican Mary Kuney.Amy Edelen
Kuney defeats Chase for seat on Spokane County Commission
, Associated Press (November 7, 2018). He worked for

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

's presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

. During his time as county treasurer, Chase was one of the chief proponents of a public entity bid to acquire

Avista Avista Corporation is an American energy company which generates and transmits electricity and distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Approximately 1,550 employees provide electricity, natural gas, and other ...

, either by an

electric cooperative A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distributed to members in ...

or by a

special-purpose district Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-purpose districts) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such ...

, and he tried to block Avista's sale to

Hydro One Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...

. In 2018, Chase ran for Spokane County Commission, but was defeated by Kuney. In 2020, he announced that he would challenge incumbent Congresswoman

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. A Republican, McMorris Rodgers ...

in the Republican primary for

Washington's 5th congressional district Washington's 5th congressional district encompasses the Eastern Washington counties of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Whitman, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin, along with parts of Adams and Franklin. It is cen ...

. He later dropped out of that race to run for

instead.Doug Nadvornick
Chase, Gurel Run For Open Seat In WA Fourth Legislative District
, Spokane Public Radio (October 16, 2020). He defeated Democratic nominee Lance Gurel in the November 2020 general election.Roger Harnack

, ''Cheney Free Press'' (November 6, 2020). Chase's district, the Fourth Legislative District, covers the communities of

Spokane Valley, Washington Spokane Valley is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, and the largest suburb of Spokane. It is located east of Spokane, west of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and surrounds the city of Millwood on three sides. The city incorporated as t ...

and Liberty Lake; parts of

Mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

; and northwest Spokane County.Kip Hill
State Rep. Rob Chase's anti-vaccine comments removed from Facebook, called 'false information'
, ''Spokesman-Review'' (July 21, 2021). Chase is a vocal supporter of

Matt Shea Matthew Thomas Shea (born April 18, 1974) is an American far-right lawyer, pastor, and politician. A Republican, he represented the 4th legislative district in the Washington House of Representatives from 2009 to 2021. A 2019 report published ...

, a Washington state representative who was expelled from the House Republican Caucus after an independent investigation determined that Shea participated in acts of

domestic terrorism Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

. Chase holds the state House seat formerly held by Shea. In 2020, Chase said, "I stand by Matt Shea. I don't think he did anything illegal." Chase supports the creation of a create a new

51st state 51st state in American political discourse refers to areas considered candidates for U.S. statehood, joining the 50 states that have constituted the United States since 1959. The phrase has been applied to external territories as well as parts o ...

(the "

State of Liberty The State of Liberty was a proposed U.S. state to be formed out of Eastern Washington, as submitted in a failed bill proposal in 2019 by Matt Shea and Bob McCaslin Jr. in the Washington House of Representatives. It was proposed by Shea as Hous ...

") to be formed by the

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

of Eastern Washington from the rest of the state, an idea previously promoted by Shea; Chase introduced legislation for Eastern Washington secession in 2021.Nick Bowman
With Matt Shea out, yearly push for Eastern Washington secession gets new co-sponsors
, KIRO-FM (January 18, 2021). Chase has previously promoted various extremist

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

; in online writings, he has promoted

QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...

birtherism During Barack Obama's Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign, campaign for president in 2008 United States presidential election, 2008, throughout Presidency of Barack Obama, his presidency and afterwards, there was extensive news coverage ...

, and

chemtrails The chemtrail conspiracy theory is the erroneous belief that long-lasting condensation trails are "chemtrails" consisting of chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic prope ...

.Daniel Walters
Matt Shea-endorsed candidate Rob Chase dabbles in QAnon, 9/11 and other wild conspiracy theories
, ''Inlander'' (August 27, 220). In 2019, Chase shared a link on Facebook to a report baselessly claiming that the September 11 attacks were an inside job involving "the Zionists" and others, and that the "

Boston Bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a Domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, plante ...

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

, and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

" attacks were all "false flag" hoaxes. After taking office in 2021, Chase hired Cecily Wright, the former chair of the Spokane County Republican Party and a longtime associate, as his legislative assistant. Wright was ousted from her chairmanship of the county party in 2018, after she defended

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

James Allsup James Walker Allsup (born September 7, 1995 as James Orien Allsup, name legally changed by petition on 7/12/2021) is an American white supremacist, far-right political commentator, and podcaster. Allsup has stated that he prefers to be describ ...

, who had been unseated as a Whitman County

precinct committee officer A precinct captain, also known as a precinct chairman, precinct delegate, precinct committee officer or precinct committeeman, is an elected official in the American political party system. The office establishes a direct link between a political ...

after he marched at the violent

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, in 2017. Chase defended Wright as having "a good reputation" and being "dependable and loyal." Chase has pushed Donald Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election was marred by fraud. Although no evidence supports this claim, in August 2021, Chase and four other state Republican lawmakers (

Robert Sutherland Robert Sutherland (1830–1878), a native of Jamaica, was the first known graduate of colour at a Canadian university, and the first Black man to study law in British North America.Queens UniversityQueensU.ca "Alumni." Retrieved on: 2009-05-30 ...

, Jim Walsh, Vicki Kraft, and Bob McCaslin Jr.) held an unofficial hearing at a

Snohomish, Washington Snohomish is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Snohomish River, southeast of Everett and northwest of Monroe. Snohomish lies at the intersection of U.S. Rou ...

church calling for "forensic audit" to take place in Washington State similar to the criticized Arizona audit. The organizers of the event invited speakers who have falsely claimed voter fraud. Trump was defeated by Joe Biden in Washington state by almost 785,000 votes. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Chase promoted

COVID-19 misinformation False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messaging ...

.Wilson Criscione and Nate Sanford
We asked more than 65 local politicians if they were vaccinated for COVID-19. Here's what they said
, ''Inlander'' (August 26, 2021). In a July 2021 Facebook post, Chase compared the

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

s to

Nazi medical experimentation Nazi human experimentation was a series of human experimentation, medical experiments on large numbers of prisoners, including children, by Nazi Germany in its Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps in the early to mid 1940s, during Wo ...

and falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine "is not a vaccine"; that the vaccine "is not tested"; that the vaccine was the result of a nefarious conspiracy orchestrated by

George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...

; and there are many "natural cures" for COVID-19. None of these claims are true.

References

External links

Rob Chase at ourcampaigns.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Rob Living people People from Spokane County, Washington Eastern Washington University alumni Republican Party members of the Washington House of Representatives Businesspeople from Washington (state) Politicians from Spokane, Washington People from Spokane Valley, Washington 1953 births