Both the Democratic and Republican parties in Lake County will have a change in leadership next month. Neither Lake County Republican Central Committee Chair Keith Brin nor Lake County Democratic Chair Lauren Beth Gash will seek their party’s nod to continue.
Gash and Brin, who are Highland Park residents, disclosed their decisions not to seek reelection to lead their parties on Wednesday, giving the respective precinct committeepersons time to evaluate potential replacements before their April conventions.
Chosen party chair in 2020, Gash said in an email Wednesday, she plans to remain politically active but wants to devote more time to her family and personal life, including “ being a lawyer, and advocating for issues.”
“With a kid on the East Coast and a kid on the West Coast, Gregg (Garmisa, my husband), and I are looking forward to seeing them more “Gash said in the email. “I’m excited about having more free time for things like traveling, being a more active grandma (and) gardening.”
Brin said it is important no one individual become entrenched in a leadership role. The party has a good bench and there was significant grass roots growth the past four years. He believes a foundation was laid to help the GOP regain some of the offices it lost the past eight years.
“I term limited myself to two terms because I believe our party benefits from a regular infusion of new energy, ideas, and voices,” Brin said. “When a person is there loo long it becomes about them. I am proud of the foundation we’ve laid for the next chair to see success in turning Lake County around.”
During her career as an elected official and party leader, Gash went from being the only Democrat from Lake County in the Illinois General Assembly to seeing 10 of 14 Democrats in the delegation as well as four members of the U.S. House of Representatives instead of none.
After four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, Gash ran for Congress in 2000 when then U.S. Rep. John Porter, R-Wilmette, chose to retire. She believed the demographics in the area, especially Lake County, were changing. She lost that year to Mark Kirk but earned 49% of the votes.
Though she never sought a rematch against Kirk, Gash started the Illinois Tenth Congressional District Democrats(Tenth Dems) with three friends in her living room in 2003 with the goal of electing a Democrat to the seat. She said the organization did it with innovative and grassroots work.
“We took significant steps to soften the ground for Democrats and empower our candidates to win,” Gash said. “We went door to door and got others to join. We started Tenth Dems University. We brought in speakers. It got (more) people involved. We developed an infrastructure. We opened offices to be hubs for the community.”
During election years, Gash said volunteers from the Tenth Dems went door-to-door for all Democratic candidates. In the odd-numbered years, they continued to canvass neighborhoods. They took a different tack.
“It was a connection canvass,” Gash said. “We said it’s not an election year, but we wanted to know what’s on their minds.
Between 2004 and 2012, the Congressional contests between Kirk and then former UJS. Rep. Robert Dold, R-Kenilworth, and Democratic opponents got closer.
In 2012, U.S. Rep Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, defeated Dold in a narrow election, lost to Dold in a tight race two years later and regained the seat in another close election in 2016. He has held the job since by increasingly large margins.
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When Gash became county chair in 2020, she said she introduced the successful Tenth Dems strategy to the parts of Lake County that were not in the 10th Congressional District. They helped Indivisible Western Lake County “get off the ground.”
“We expanded the infrastructure of the Tenth Dems into a countywide effort,” Gash said. “A website was developed. The email list was now robust, allowing us to connect with Democrats all over the county. We opened social media accounts.”
While the Democrats were winning all countywide offices and gained a large majority on the Lake County Board, Brin said the local GOP was plagued with infighting and financial problems. He was dealing with a state and county becoming more and more Democratic.
“Many of our township organizations had atrophied,” Brin said in an email Friday. “The downward trend for Republicans hit Lake County hard. It took a lot of work, but we were able to stop the bleeding on election losses, raise money to get our party out of debt, put in place financial and legal safeguards, and establish a benchmark program to support our Republican candidates.”
Republican candidates were recruited, and Brin said they are gaining experience. The local GOP is now stronger than it was between 2018 and 2024. There is more hope going into the 2026 election. The organization has grown stronger.
“We’ve reestablished active township organizations throughout the county,” Brin said. “We’ve brought back hope in our county party. There is still much work to be done, but the Lake County Republican Party is now in a good position to take back so many of the elected offices that we lost prior to my chairmanship.”
Though he is not seeking the chairmanship, Brin is not done with Republican leadership roles. He said he is running for the job of 10th Congressional District Central Committeeperson working with party leaders statewide when the local party convenes in April. Current committeeperson Mark Shaw is term-limited.
“As the Lake County GOP Chair, I have worked to include all Republicans in our activities, listening to all voices and ideas and making sure no one is excluded from the process,” Brin said. “. I will bring this same energy and passion to the central committee, ensuring every Republican in Illinois knows that their voice matters and that they have a place in our party.”
When the Lake County Democrats hold their convention next month, they will elect a new chair. Gash said she is backing state Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove. His work as an activist puts him in a good position to lead the county party.
“He has worked for many years as an activist for the Lake Dems,” Gash said. “I know he can do the job and keep the progress going.”