Former Seattle TV anchor Susan Hutchison has been elected chair of the Washington State Republican Party.

Hutchison who anchored for years at KIRO defeated the interim GOP chair, Luanne Van Werven, in a runoff vote after two other candidates were eliminated at the party’s meeting in Spokane on Saturday.

Hutchison ran unsuccessfully for King County Executive in 2009, downplaying her Republican ties.

On Saturday, she pledged to breathe new life into a state Republican Party that has suffered stinging election defeats.

Hutchison said the party is “nearly broke,” has a “useless” website and a get-out-the-vote operation that is spotty in some places and ineffective in others.

H/T Spokesman Review