LEWIS CENTER – In a victory for President-elect Donald Trump, insurgent Jane Timken became chairman of the Ohio Republican Party today after a bitter struggle.

LEWIS CENTER – In a victory for President-elect Donald Trump, insurgent Jane Timken became chairman of the Ohio Republican Party today after a bitter struggle.

She emerged with the top party job after a closed-doors deal to make current Chairman Matt Borges a �chairman emeritus,� an unpaid advisory slot.

�I think it�s important to have a female in this leadership position. I think that�s a historic moment,� Timken said afterward.

�But I think most importantly, I�m a person that�s going to take this party to a new direction and have great success. We�ll come together as a family at the end of this day.�

After two ballots, the party�s state central committee could not agree on who should lead the party. Both times, the panel split 33 to 32 in favor of Timken over Borges, backed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

With 34 votes needed to win, the panel recessed and operatives worked the hallways and meeting rooms – even the men�s room – near the conference room north of Columbus to break the deadlock.

But in a deal engineered in part by Cuyahoga County GOP Chairman Rob Frost and Franklin County party boss Doug Preisse, Borges dropped out and accepted the emeritus post.

Timken said she is unclear what Borges� duties will be; he said he hopes to help Timken with the transition.

The heavily contested matchup drew national attention as a clash of Trump against a top rival, Kasich, who essentially secured the chairmanship for Borges in 2013.

In a statement this afternoon, Kasich said:"Congratulations to Jane on becoming chair of the Ohio Republican Party. Jane is following in the footsteps of one our Party's most successful chairman in history and will need the help of all Republicans in Ohio to continue Matt's work. Republicans across Ohio owe Matt Borges a debt of gratitude. Matt has led our Party to unprecedented victories up and down the ballot. He has always maintained his class and put others before himself. He has been a model chairman."

The stakes in the race were underscoredThursday as Trump called several central committee members personally. Today, each member was handed a copy of a personal letter from Trump to Timken.

�It�s important to have strong leadership in our battle states and I look forward to working with you as chairman,� the president-elect said.

He added a handwritten postscript: �Important for Ohio that you win!� – with �win� double-underlined.

Frost said he thinks Trump�s personal intervention was key, leading �to the ability to have a unity ticket.�

Trump�s candidate also won the party�s vice chairman job, replacing the incumbent.

After the first vote for chairman, Timken took the lectern again and said a new chairman is needed to keep the party together.�I think it�s time for a change in leadership. We won�t have unity without a change in leadership,� she said.

In his second speech, Borges offered to create a top party post for Timken if the GOP picked him for another term.

Neither of those speeches carried the day: the second ballot wound up the same as the first.

One of the committee members getting the Trump calls, Greg Simpson of Milford near Cincinnati, said the president-elect stated his support for Timken but didn�t pressure him. Most of the conversation was about Simpson�s trucking business.

Simpson, who backs Borges, said he was surprised Trump would take the time to personally intervene in a state party battle.

Respected veteran party leaders lined up on both sides of the battle.

Longtime GOP panel member Pat Flanagan said the party needs a leader who can pick up the phone and get Trump on the line whenever needed, �and Jane Timken can.�

Dave Johnson, GOP chairman of Columbiana County in northeast Ohio for 26 years, hailed the Timken family�s ability to contribute and raise money over the years.

�If there was ever somebody prepared to raise money for this party it�s Jane Timken,� he said.

And committee member Sarah Brown added, �Her support for Donald Trump was never in question.�& amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /span>

Jim Dicke, an Ohio member of the Republican National Committee, noted Borges had a tough job during a contentious election year that included death threats. He recounted the party�s continued dominance in Ohio under Borges� leadership.

State Auditor Dave Yost observed the same thing, and wanted to know, "What Republican believes in firing someone for success?"

David Goodman, Kasich�s development services administration director, says pro-Borges missives to the central committee have been positive, while those backing Timken have been negative, dividing the Ohio GOP.

The month-long race attracted accusations of lies and rules violations, including an 11th-hour complaint by former Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery to the Republican National Committee over the actions of Timken backer Robert Paduchik. He not only was Trump's Ohio campaign chief, he was named last month to a top national GOP post�which Montgomery said should have barred him from meddling in state party affairs.

Montgomery said today she hasn�t heard back from the national party. �The silence has been deafening,� she remarked.

Going into today's meeting, both Borges and Timken maintained that they had commitments from a majority of the66 members of the state central committee �a man and a woman from each state Senate district.

Borges, a staunch advocate of Kasich's presidential candidacy last year, was a lukewarm Trump supporter�although in a letter this week to the central committee his listed several actions he took to boost the billionaire's campaign.

drowland@dispatch.com

@darreldrowland