Tagged: ed martin

As the Conservative Political Action Conference takes place in Washington, D.C. this weekend – without some notable key players on the national Republican stage – a rift apparently is developing in the Missouri Republican Party, between new and veteran factions.

The chairman of the Missouri Republican Party says he's conducting a nationwide search for a new executive director.

Republican chairman Ed Martin said Wednesday that he's already received resumes from people in Virginia and New Mexico and is looking for whoever is best suited to serve as party CEO — even if that person is from outside Missouri.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Rep. Hartzler opens office in Columbia, talks spending cuts and Hagel
• New Mo. GOP chair plans more aggressive approach
• 2012 was record warm year in much of Missouri

The new chairman of the Missouri Republican Party wants the GOP to be more aggressive in promoting its message and more sophisticated in reaching out to voters.

Martin narrowly ousted former chair David Cole on Saturday.

Many speculate it was because of the GOP's poor performance in statewide races, where the party lost five out of the six races.

Martin says those losses were due to one thing: "We found ourselves at a disadvantage because we were vastly outspent by tens of millions of dollars total," he says.