Longest-serving House speaker Frank Chopp dies at 71
Mar 23, 2025, 6:35 AM
Rep. Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, was the Washington Speaker of the House for 20 years. (Photo courtesy of the Washington House Democrats/housedemocrats.wa.gov)
(Photo courtesy of the Washington House Democrats/housedemocrats.wa.gov)
Frank Chopp, the longest-serving speaker in Washington state House history, has died. He was 71.
Chopp passed away suddenly, according to state lawmakers and his family, per The Seattle Times. A cause of death has not yet been released.
“We are all devastated today at the shocking news of (former) Speaker Frank Chopp’s sudden passing,” Lt. Gov. Denny Heck wrote Saturday on social media. “Our state mourns a great loss.”
Mourning the loss of Frank Chopp
Tributes poured in from both sides of the aisle.
“Speaker Frank Chopp cared deeply about Washington, people who worked hard and people who needed a hand up. He loved and respected the WA House of Representatives and honored its process even at the expense of his policies. I’m deeply grateful I served with him,” Former Republican House leader JT Wilcox said on X.
Former Governor Jay Inslee called Chopp “one of the most effective and consequential legislative leaders in the whole nation.”
Chopp was first elected to the House in 1994 and served as co-speaker beginning in 1999 when the chamber was evenly divided between parties. He became sole speaker in 2002 and held the position until 2019, steering Democrats through nearly two decades of legislative dominance. He remained in the Legislature until choosing not to seek reelection in 2024.
