WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a close White House ally and a Cuban American, will take the job of general chairman of the Republican National Committee, President Bush announced at the White House on Tuesday. The appointment comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Hispanic voters.
Martinez, a first-term senator, will remain in office and serve as the party's chief spokesman and fundraiser heading into the 2008 elections. Mike Duncan, the party's current general counsel and a former party treasurer, will manage day-to-day operations and be elected chairman in January, Bush said. The current co-chairwoman, Jo Ann Davidson, will continue in that post.
The current Republican chairman, Ken Mehlman, will step aside in January, after spending much of his tenure updating the party's technological infrastructure and reaching out to minority groups. Exit polls last week showed that Mehlman's efforts were overwhelmed by voter concerns about the war, corruption and the handling of immigration.
