ALBANY – The new chairman of the Republican State Committee, Stephen Minarik of Rochester, is promising a more aggressive style of politics as the party tries to recoup its losses in recent elections.

After two weeks of recriminations and finger-pointing over GOP losses on Election Day, party leaders made a show of unity and optimism at their meeting yesterday and elevated Mr. Minarik, the party chairman of Monroe County, to statewide chairman in a unanimous voice vote.

The committee also elected the outgoing chairman, Alexander “Sandy” Treadwell of Essex County, to a seat on the Republican National Committee.

While avoiding any criticism of Mr. Treadwell’s mild-mannered management of the last four years, Mr. Minarik made it plain that he will shake up the party headquarters and set a different tone.

“It’s not how much you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up,” he told the state committee, gathered at a hotel outside Albany. “Rest assured: We will get back up. We will be stronger.”

“I’m a pretty straightforward guy,” he said. “I’m not laid back. And, when attacked, I don’t turn the other cheek. … I’m a hands-on campaign professional who will pat you on the back and praise you for strong team efforts. But I will also get in your face if effort is lacking or you stray from our team.”

Mr. Minarik takes over a party that has seen its ranks dwindle in recent years, both among elected officials and registered voters.

In elections early this month, New York Republicans – bucking the nationwide trend toward the GOP – gave up one seat in the House of Representatives, as many as four seats in the state Senate, and one seat in the Assembly. The state party mounted only a token campaign against Senator Schumer, allowing him to win a record setting 71% of the vote. In addition, Democrats in recent years have taken control of local governments in the former Republican strongholds of Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties.

Meanwhile, the number of enrolled Democrats in New York grew by 411,000 during the last year, compared with 140,000 for the GOP. Registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans 5.5 million to 3.2 million.

At yesterday’s meeting, party leaders focused on the positive: Republicans have won the last three elections for governor and the last three elections for mayor of New York City. Their majority in the Senate, though shrinking, continues to hold. And they took credit, as hosts of the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden, for helping to re-elect President Bush.

“Our Republican Party is strong, vibrant, and hopeful for the future,” Rep. Thomas Reynolds of Erie County said. “To borrow from someone who spent much of his time in upstate, Mark Twain: Reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, they’re about as accurate as the exit polls.”

“Our policies of lowering taxes, creating more jobs, safer streets, a better education system, give opportunity and hope to everyone,” Governor Pataki said. “Our policies are right.”

There was at least one dissenting voice at the meeting: A committee member from Queens, Edward Coyne, booed loudly when Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno took the stage.

“He deserved it,” Mr. Coyne told reporters outside the meeting. “The New York State Legislature is dysfunctional, and he’s one of the biggest reasons. … Joe Bruno is one of the party leaders, and he’s not doing the job.”

He also criticized party officials for selecting Mr. Minarik without consulting the rank-and-file members, saying he had learned the new chairman’s name by reading it in the newspapers. “You know what it reminds me of? The politburo,” he said.

In his speech, Mr. Bruno maintained that Senate Republicans had done a “great job” in the legislative elections, even though they stand to lose at least three and possibly four of their 38 seats in the 62-member chamber.

Given the lopsided enrollment number, he said, “when we stay in the majority … we did something right.”

He also offered a tacit defense of the Senate Republicans’ decision last year to approve tax increases and override Mr. Pataki’s vetoes.

“Everybody wants it all, but they don’t want to pay for it,” he said. “We have the best health-care system in the world, and that takes support and that takes money.”