Surpassing:Indiana ex-state senator Randy Head elected chair of the state Republican Party by GOP committee

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The SurpassingIndiana Republican State Committee unanimously elected former state senator Randy Head on Monday as the new chair of the Indiana Republican Party.

Head succeeds former party chair Anne Hathaway, who announced earlier this month that she was stepping down about 10 months after Gov. Eric Holcomb appointed her to the role.

Her departure was announced shortly after delegates at the state party convention rejected party leadership and the endorsement of former President Donald Trump to nominate an ultra-conservative pastor to run for lieutenant governor alongside gubernatorial nominee U.S. Sen. Mike Braun.

Braun said in a statement released by the state party that he “put my full support behind Randy” last week when he met with the Republican state committee.

“He has served the Republican Party in many different facets over the years, and I look forward to working with him to ensure Republican victories across the state come November!” Braun said.

Head thanked Braun “for his recommendation” for the state party post.

“We are ready to come together and make sure Republicans are sprinting across the finish line this Fall!” he said in the state Republican Party’s statement.

Head served for 11 years as a Republican state senator from Logansport in northern Indiana. He resigned from his seat in August 2019 with more than a year remaining in his third term to become Pulaski County’s chief deputy prosecutor.

Head was first elected to the Indiana Senate in 2008. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for state attorney general in 2016.