Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, said Mr. Kimball’s win was evidence that the Tea Party and similar groups were pushing the state’s Republican Party to the right. Mr. Hemingway’s group helped a large number of conservatives, including many with Tea Party support, win election to the state legislature in the fall.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say that New Hampshire is a moderate state, and I think this proves it,” Mr. Hemingway said. “There are new people voting, and they have a conservative outlook.”

Others said that the vote was not a sure sign of a changing Republican electorate. Republican primary voters here chose John McCain in 2008, and Barack Obama won the state decisively in the general election, with help from its many independents. In a presidential straw poll conducted at the party meeting by ABC News and WMUR-TV, Mr. Pawlenty received 8 percent of the vote.

In backing Ms. Bergeron for Republican leader, Mr. Sununu seemed to be sending the message that Mr. Kimball, a self-described “warrior” who has said he would not tolerate deviation from the party platform, would threaten party unity at a crucial time. In a strongly worded speech to state committee members before the vote, Mr. Sununu said that he was worried about divisions within the party and warned that its leaders must not alienate more moderate members, independents  who make up about 40 percent of the state’s voters  or even Democrats.

“We don’t want to be seen as a party that’s a sliver of a party,” he said. “We want to be seen as a party that welcomes all views.”