Jonah Kaauwai, who lost the confidence of influential Republicans, resigned Monday as chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party, telling members that the overall health of the GOP is more important than any one leader.

Several members of the party’s executive committee had called on Kaauwai last week to either step down or be removed. He had led the GOP since 2009 and was re-elected to a second two-year term in May, but he had difficulty with fundraising and was struggling to close a party debt of nearly $100,000.

Kaauwai said last week that former Gov. Linda Lingle was behind the move to oust him, which a senior Lingle adviser denied. Lingle and several of her allies on the party’s executive committee, however, had lost confidence in Kaauwai’s leadership, according to a letter from the executive committee.

His strident conservatism and his courtship of evangelical Christians were steering the party to the right, while Lingle, who is considering a U.S. Senate campaign, and former Congressman Charles Djou, who is running for Congress, are appealing to the center with messages of bipartisanship.

In an email sent Monday to party members, Kaauwai quoted from Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 address to the Illinois Republican Convention: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

"As the leader of our party, the overall unity and the inclusion of all principled groups within the party has been my objective. It was never my intent to divide members, only to identify and include new ones," he said.

"The overall health of the party is more important than any one person, issue, or candidate."

Some Republicans have urged Kaauwai to enter the Republican primary in the 2nd Congressional District, which covers rural Oahu and the neighbor islands. Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Honolulu City Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard, state Office of Hawaiian Affairs chief advocate Esther Kiaaina and patients’ rights attorney Rafael del Castillo are running in the Democratic primary.

"Many (are) encouraging me to run. Huge decision to make and my family gave up a great deal in the last two years," Kaauwai said in a text message. "Yes, I am keeping my options open."

Under the party’s rules of succession, Beth Fukumoto, the party’s first vice chairwoman, becomes interim chairwoman. Fukumoto, who works in the state House Minority Research Office, could serve until a permanent replacement is chosen at the party’s convention in May.

"I am actually looking forward to trying to bring unity," said Fukumoto, 28, who unsuccessfully ran for the state House last year. "I just want to see more Republicans elected, to tell you the truth."

The factionalism that led to Kaauwai’s departure is another blot on a party that has fought to stay relevant in a traditionally Democratic state. But if Kaauwai’s ouster does end the infighting and Republicans are able to unite, the party has the potential to be competitive next year with Lingle and Djou, which could also help Republicans in state House and Senate races.

"I hope everybody can come together and move forward to win elections," said Dylan Nonaka, the former GOP executive director under Kaauwai. "We’ve got a lot of big opportunities next year, and it’s time to move on and focus."

Hawaii News Now Video: Dan Boylan discusses Hawaii GOP chairman resigning