Martinez Agrees To Be RNC Chairman

WASHINGTON — Senator Martinez, a Republican of Florida and a close White House ally and Cuban American, has agreed to become the next general chairman of the Republican National Committee, GOP officials said, an appointment that comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Hispanic voters.

Mr. Martinez, a first-term senator, will remain in office and serve as the chief party spokesman and fund-raiser for the GOP heading into the 2008 elections. The RNC's current general counsel and a former party treasurer, Mike Duncan, will manage day-to-day operations and be elected chairman in January, Republican aides said. An official announcement is expected soon.

The current RNC chairman, Ken Mehlman, will step aside in January, after spending much of his tenure updating the party's technological infrastructure and reaching out to minority groups, especially African-Americans and Hispanics. The exit polls showed that Mr. Mehlman's efforts were overwhelmed by voter concerns about the war, corruption, and the hard-line approach some Republicans assumed in this year's immigration debate.

Democrats won 69% of the Hispanic vote last Tuesday, a 10-year high. This was seen as big setback at the White House in particular, after President Bush won 55% of the Hispanic vote in 2004.

"I am concerned about where we stand with Hispanic voters," Mr. Mehlman said in an interview Friday. "The day we become just the party of the wall not only won't we secure the borders but we will substantially limit the growth of the party." Hispanics are not single-issue voters, but GOP officials said the tone of immigration debate hurt the GOP with the fastest-growing minority group.

While Mr. Bush pushed for a comprehensive package that included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, the Republican-controlled Congress demanded a fence-first law that emphasized security only.

Exit polling showed 57% of voters favored allowing illegal immigrants a shot at legal status.