LITTLE ROCK—Fresh from gains in last month’s election but still struggling in a Democratic-dominated state, Arkansas Republicans meet Saturday to elect a new party chairman.

Former state Sen. Doyle Webb of Benton and state party treasurer Joseph Wood of Fayetteville are both vying to succeed Party Chairman Dennis Milligan, who announced last month that he wasn’t seeking another term in the party’s top post.

Both candidates say they hope to take advantage of the party’s gains in last month’s elections. Republicans picked up three seats in the Democratic-dominated Legislature and Republican John McCain won the state with a 20-point victory over President-elect Barack Obama.

McCain’s win marked the first time Arkansas has not gone with the winner in the presidential race since 1968.

“I think this election indicates that we’ve really got a larger base than we know,” said Wood, a human resources and career consultant.

Wood, who is black, says that if he’s elected he would be the first African-American chairman of the state Republican Party. State GOP Executive Director Karen Ray said that, to her knowledge, the party has not had a black chairman before.

Webb, who served as the late Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller’s chief of staff, said he hopes to help the party build its “farm team” of activists and locally elected officials to run for statewide office.

“I have experience of running elections, of targeting races and helping build a party into what is a two-party system,” Webb said.

The party’s rules say the chairman can either be a volunteer or paid for his work, but candidates for the post must beforehand declare whether they want to be paid. Webb said he wants to be paid for the position, but Wood says he would work for free.

Webb, an attorney, said that making the position paid would help him dedicate more time to the party.

“It’s time we direct our resources to party building activities,” Webb said.

Wood, however, said he thinks that money would be better spent on the party’s behalf.

“I really think that’s additional money that can be put into the party ... for outreach and running in 2010 and 2012,” Wood said.

Webb heads into Saturday’s meeting with the backing of former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who served as governor when Webb was a state senator. Wood has the backing of Milligan.

The next chairman of the GOP will lead the party as it prepares for the 2010 election, which is likely to include re-election battles with Democrats Gov. Mike Beebe and Sen. Blanche Lincoln.