State Republican Vice Chairwoman Liane Johnson of Cut Bank will move up to succeed Iverson, who lives in Missoula.
She intends to appoint Tim Fox, a Helena lawyer and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for attorney general this year, as the party's new vice chairman. The party's executive board must ratify that appointment.
“My new employment situation requires significant travel outside of Montana, which will prevent me from being as available as I would like to be throughout the legislative session,” Iverson wrote in a letter to the party's executive board.
Often mentioned as a future congressional candidate if Rehberg seeks another office, Iverson said he will continue to be “heavily involved” in the Montana Republican Party.
Iverson, elected state party chairman in June 2007, said Montana Republicans have made “significant headway” the past 18 months, and he was proud to have been a part of these positive changes.
“Montana Republicans consistently buck national trends, and this year was no exception,” Iverson said. “The past election was tough for Republicans all over the country, so it was no small feat to retain our 50 seats in the Montana House and win a majority in the Montana Senate.”
He said the Montana GOP raised more than $2 million to support its candidates, twice the previous record. Iverson cited the party's new Web site that relays the party's messages better and establishes an online fundraising network.
Despite their legislative wins, Republicans did not fare as well in statewide races in November, apart from Rehberg's victory to his fifth term in Congress.
Democratic Sen. Max Baucus and Gov. Brian Schweitzer coasted to easy re-election victories in the other top-of-the-ticket races. Besides holding on to the governor's race, Democrats ran the table on the other Land Board offices, capturing elections for attorney general, auditor, superintendent of public instruction and secretary of state.
Johnson said she and Iverson worked hard “to make the Montana Republican Party more technologically savvy, open the lines of communication within the party and among our members and extend our message of low taxes, good-paying jobs and fiscal responsibility to all Montanans.”
“Looking ahead, Montana Republicans will continue to bring new ideas to state politics, providing the brand of leadership Montanans deserve,” she said.
Johnson is an enrolled Blackfeet and Haida Indian who was elected vice chairwoman in June 2007 on the ticket headed by Iverson. She is a Cut Bank High School graduate who attended both Montana State University-Northern and Blackfeet Community College.
She owns Liane Johnson Farms and has spent more than four decades farming and ranching in Glacier County. She serves on the board of directors for Glacier Community Healthcare Center.
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David S. Robins wrote on Dec 28, 2008 12:53 PM: