Jack Kimball, besieged chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, resigned on Sept. 1, negating an anticipated vote to oust him from the post.

Kimball, of Dover, announced his resignation at the beginning of the state party’s Executive Board meeting in Concord, during which members were expected to vote on whether or not to remove him. Kimball had come under fire in recent weeks for poor fundraising efforts and several Republican losses in special elections.

Only a week earlier, Kimball had defended his chairmanship at a press conference, denying allegations that fundraising has been weak and saying he had worked to bring new blood to the party. A self-proclaimed “Tea Partier,” Kimball acknowledged that several prominent republicans had asked him to step down but indicated he had no intentions of doing so.

His tune changed at the Executive Board meeting, where he said a vote on his ouster would have been bad for the party. In a joint statement, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, U.S. reps. Charles Bass and Frank Guinta, state Senate President Peter Bragdon and state House Speaker William O’Brien praised his decision.

“Outgoing chairman Jack Kimball gave the New Hampshire Republican Party an invaluable gift tonight. He put the best interests of the NH GOP ahead of all other considerations, and we are grateful for that,” the statement reads. “Now we can move forward with unity. Republicans will work side by side to spread our shared message of job creation and fiscal responsibility and to elect GOP candidates.”

Vice chair Wayne MacDonald will take over as interim chair of the party until the end of the current term, which runs through December.