Republican activists will meet Saturday to pick a state party leader to replace Tony Sutton, who resigned earlier this month. Limmer's announcement that he'll withdraw leaves three others in the race: GOP operative Pat Shortridge, Second Congressional District GOP chair Terry McCall and Todd McIntyre.

Pat Shortridge won the Minnesota GOP party chair election on the first ballot. He was up against Terry McCall and Todd McIntyre. He takes over for former chair Tony Sutton who recently resigned.

Interim Republican chair Kelly Fenton is gaining support from party activists who want her to remain the GOP leader into 2012. Fenton replaced former chairman Tony Sutton after his resignation in December. Party officials will convene at the end of the month to name a permanent party leader.

The Chanhassen Villager reports Paul Zunker has since resigned from his post. Members of the Carver County Republican Party will meet Thursday to select a new chair.

A party spokeswoman told the St. Cloud Times that Minnesota's Republican Party will hold its 2012 state convention May 18-19 at the St. Cloud Civic Center. Among other things, GOP activists will likely endorse a challenger to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Eden Prairie business executive Brandon Sawalich has picked up some endorsements in his bid to become the new state party chair. The only other announced candidate is a relative unknown, but a few other possibilities are still considering joining the race.

Just hours after Republican officials declared the party $2 million in debt, former party leader Tony Sutton released a statement on his Facebook page saying the numbers reflect a hard fought election and campaign cycle, but that Minnesota is better off because of it.