Updated: August 25, 2011, 10:00AM
Kimball is set to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. ET, the Associated Press reports. The exact topic of the press conference has not been announced.
Earlier report:
Members of the New Hampshire GOP congressional delegation are on Thursday morning reportedly expected to sign and send a letter to NH GOP Chair Jack Kimball seeking his removal from office.
CNN reports that letter will be sent by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, and Reps. Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass.
The state GOP has had fundraising personnel problems this year, since Kimball took over, and has also lost a number of special elections for the state legislature.
The state Republican chairman in New Hampshire who won his post earlier this year with the help of Tea Party activists, earlier this week aired a striking allegation: That the Republican Governors Association effectively sought to blackmail him into resignation, due to recent problems the state party has suffered — and that they allegedly held up $100,000 for the state party, conditional on his leaving.
On Monday, the conservative state blog GraniteGrok published the allegation, that top state Republican leaders had met with Kimball this past Friday to convey the message from the RGA, that they would donate $100,000 to the state party — if he resigned.
Kimball then confirmed the account to newspapers, with the RGA denying it.
“The contents in that piece are accurate,” Kimball told the Boston Globe. “It’s very sad.”
Kimball also told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he would not resign: “My stepping down would be the worst thing that could happen to this party at this juncture. It would cause a fissure that I don’t think would heal anytime soon.”
Mike Schrimpf, a spokesman for the RGA, told the Globe: “The RGA knows the value of strong state parties and believes it is important for the New Hampshire GOP to be running at full strength in 2012. Recent news reports about the RGA’s commitment to New Hampshire are wrong.”
When asked for comment by TPM, Schrimpf also simply told TPM: “The reports are wrong.”
Kimball did not return a phone message left by TPM on Wednesday.
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