Timken, Jane.jpeg

Jane Timken was elected chair of the Ohio Republican Party on Friday.

(Jane Timken)

LEWIS CENTER, Ohio--In another victory for the forces of Donald Trump, Stark County attorney Jane Timken was narrowly elected Ohio Republican Party chair Friday against incumbent chair Matt Borges.

Timken, Trump's favored candidate, was elected by the state GOP's central committee after two deadlocked votes. After closed-door negotiations, Borges agreed to withdraw in exchange for being named chairman emeritus of the party -- though he said it's not exactly clear yet what that job will entail beyond helping Timken during the transition process.

Timken's victory is the latest display of the president-elect's newfound clout within the state party. It also marks a defeat for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who endorsed and lobbied for Borges to remain.

Borges led Ohio Republicans to landslide victories in 2014 and 2016. But he has been accused of criticized Trump during last year's presidential primary and only offering tepid support for the billionaire businessman after he won the GOP nomination.

Timken, speaking to committee members ahead of the vote, said the Ohio Republican Party can't afford to have a chair that "picks and chooses" which GOP candidates to support.

Central committee member Pat Flanagan, in his nomination speech for Timken, said that as chair, she would be able to call Trump and quickly get a reply from him.

Trump personally phoned several central committee members ahead of the vote. Those calls helped influence Friday's outcome, said Rob Frost, a central committee member and the head of the Cuyahoga County GOP.

"I think those calls were received well," Frost said.

But Timken questioned whether the election was a proxy battle between Trump and Kasich. Rather, she said, her election was the result of a "grassroots uprising," noting that she was endorsed by about 40 GOP county chairs.

"I think they felt a little neglected, and they want some change," she said.

After the vote, Timken told reporters she was "excited" and noted she is the first woman to head the Ohio Republican Party.

Borges told reporters afterward that it was extremely important to him "to bring John Kasich and Donald Trump closer together and to make sure that we emerge from this process as a united party."

In another close vote, central committee members also voted out the state party's vice chair, Kay Reynolds, in favor of Mary Anne Christie, the honorary chairwoman of the Hamilton County Republican Party

last month.