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DES MOINES, IOWA -- A.J. Spiker has been elected the new Chairman of the Iowa Republican Party.

Spiker, a former Story County GOP chairman, was elected Saturday by the Iowa GOP's Central committee. Spiker was also one of the Iowa Co-chairs for the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign.

He replaces Matt Strawn, who announced his resignation Jan. 31, in the wake of disputed vote counting in the state's leadoff presidential caucuses on Jan. 3.

That night, Strawn declared Mitt Romney the winner by an eight-vote margin. Two weeks later, when the certified vote count listed Rick Santorum with a 34-vote edge, Strawn said the outcome was too close to call because eight precincts couldn't be counted. But days later, the party's governing committee and Strawn issued a joint statement declaring Santorum the winner.

Spiker fills the remainder of Strawn's term that ends in January.

The Associated Press Contributed to this report.