HONOLULU (AP) – New Hawaii Republican Party chair Willes Lee wants to pull the party out of irrelevancy by making it more open, diverse and responsive to voters.

Lee, who was voted chair at the GOP’s annual state convention on Maui this month, told The Associated Press that the key will be fielding well-known candidates whom people will trust, even if they carry the Republican label in a historically Democratic state.

“The party has represented the people of Hawaii, whether they’re moderate, liberal or conservative,” said Lee, who served in the Army for 22 years, where he was an airborne and Ranger officer. “I believe the people of Hawaii will find their values more closely mirror our values than those of the Democrats.”

Republicans have struggled to capitalize on the success of Gov. Linda Lingle, who was re-elected with a majority of voters in all of Hawaii’s districts in November.

But in the same election, Republicans lost two seats in the Legislature. Republicans only control five out of 25 seats in the Senate and eight out of 51 in the House – far short of the numbers needed to push through laws, much less uphold Lingle’s vetoes.

“We need to be able to present and prepare better candidates to give the voters a choice,” Lee said.

Lee, who also serves as chair of the Hawaii State Boxing Commission, doesn’t plan to change the party’s strategy of making sure a GOP candidate contests every race. The party achieved that goal, and now the emphasis will be on finding stronger candidates.

The party’s leadership pushed aside suggestions from some Hawaii Republicans that they need to be more like the mainland Republican party, rather than trying to appeal to moderate Democrats.

Like Lingle herself, the party in recent years has not tried to push ideological debates over such divisive issues as abortion, same-sex marriage or gun control.

“You need to have a broad-based perspective if you intend to win elections,” said former party chair Sam Aiona, who held the job for the last two years. “People are not looking at parties. We need to find the best person for the job who happens to be Republican.”

Aiona said he stepped down from the unpaid position because he wants to spend more time with his family while keeping his job as executive director of the state Office of Community Services.

Republican candidates have tried to emulate Lingle’s image, but that hasn’t been enough to sway voters.

In the future, they should distinguish themselves instead of relying too much on the popular governor, said Ted Hong, an attorney who was the co-chair of Lingle’s 2002 campaign on the Big Island.

“When people hear about Republicans, they have stereotypes. It’s up to those candidates to show they don’t fit those stereotypes,” said Hong, who is also a political science lecturer at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

Hawaii Republicans don’t need to adhere to a strict political philosophy, he said.

But they also shouldn’t abandon the party’s fundamental principles of limited government and individual liberties, he said.