Luke Esser stopped by the office in Olympia today. He was here visiting the House and Senate Republican caucuses on his first day as chairman of the party. He is also still working for Attorney General Rob McKenna, but will be phasing out of that job over the next couple of weeks.

The party job will likely mean a raise for Esser. He is paid $84,000-a-year working the AG and the state party chairman's job pays between $85,000 and $90,000, he said.

DEAN RUTZ/THE SEATTLE TIMES

Esser in Olympia Monday.

Esser said he stopped by party headquarters in Tukwila this morning. He told the executive director and communications director they will be replaced. The political director position is vacant, so Esser gets to fill that, too, with his own choice.

Republicans will have a higher profile in Olympia under Esser. He said the party's communications director will be down full-time during the session as part of an effort to combat the Democratic communications operation.

"We as the Republican Party haven't done enough in Olympia," he said. That, he said, includes pointing out good things Republicans propose and bad things the other party does.

"As a state party our priority needs to be state government; Olympia and county courthouses. National stuff is important, but it is more out of our control. Some day I'd like to return us to the majority party. But first we need to return the state to two-party government. We're just barely over a third of the House and the Senate."

Esser said he ran into Dino Rossi today who also was visiting House and Senate Republicans. He said he encouraged Rossi to run for governor, as he does everytime he sees the party's '04 gubernatorial candidate.