Two months after a fractious convention that left the party without a platform and a clear leader, Idaho Republicans elected a new chairman Saturday.

The choice is Steve Yates, an Idaho Falls businessman and former aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Yates was elected Saturday at a surprisingly low-key gathering in Boise; Kimberlee Kruesi of the Associated Press has the rundown.

One no-show at the meeting was former GOP chairman Barry Peterson, who had claimed he still held the position since Republicans had not elected a successor at the state convention in June in Moscow. Peterson and a group of other Republicans sued in an attempt to block Saturday’s meeting and election; the case was thrown out in a Twin Falls court last week.

Yates ran unsuccessfully for Legislature in May, losing to Idaho Falls GOP Rep. Jeff Thompson by 108 votes over more than 4,750 votes cast.