Oregon Republican Party Executive Director Andrew Over said Wednesday that Republican National Committee chair Mike Duncan was a helpful influence for state Republicans during the recent election even after it became apparent that Republican presidential candidate John McCain would struggle in Oregon.

“Chairman Duncan has done a great job in a difficult climate; we appreciated the held they gave us this cycle,” Over said in an interview with PolitickerOR.com. “They were generous with the support they gave us here.”

As Republicans at local, state and national levels are taking stock and deciding where to take the party, there have been whispers of replacing Duncan at the top with other Republican operators, including former Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee or former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Over said that ORGOP would not take a position as to if the RNC should appoint a new chairman, and if so, who that new chairman should be. But he did say that he hoped the national party would play a strong role in helping to bring together Republicans in Oregon and across the country.

“It should be somebody who’s focus will be growing the party and reaching out to new voters,” Over said. “They should demonstrate that the issues we agree on are stronger than the issues we disagree on.”

Over said the Oregon Republican Party is already looking ahead toward the 2010 election cycle by trying to cut into the voter registration gap that has left the Republican Party close to 240,000 vote underdogs.

“As a party moving forward, we need to start talking about things that bring us together,” Over said, noting that the economic climate in the country would play a dominate role in the political climate. “Over the next couple of years fiscal responsibility will be huge.”