A Republican from Iowa who was appointed to the Electoral College resigned her post yesterday because she indicated she would support Ron Paul over Mitt Romney.

Melinda Wadsley told the Associated Press early on Thursday that she planned to vote for Ron Paul because the Texas congressman has never been given a "fair shot" by Republican leaders. But after the AP report was published, the Iowa Republican Party talked to Wadsley and she stepped down so the state GOP could appoint a Romney supporter, the Des Moines Register reports.

"I have always been a straight-ticket Republican, and for the first time in my life I am an undecided voter, therefore, I need to resign my position as a Republican presidential elector," Wadsley told the AP in an e-mail.

The AP reported GOP electors in Nevada and Alaska were also considering withholding their support for Romney.

Each party chooses people to serve in the Electoral College, which meets after the popular vote has been cast to formally elect the president and vice president. In 2000, George W. Bush won the Electoral College but received fewer popular votes than Al Gore.

With the 2012 election expected to be a close one, the possibility of defections by several members of the Electoral College could deprive Romney of the presidency. His campaign has said repeatedly that Republicans are united behind the cause of defeating President Obama in November.

Wadsley's resignation underscores the tensions that still exist between Ron Paul supporters and the GOP establishment. At the GOP convention in Tampa last month, some Paul supporters protested a rules change that will make it more difficult for insurgent candidates to win delegates to future party conventions.