The vote Saturday, in which Lederman unseated incumbent chairwoman Pam Roberts, was 73 to 53.

Lederman becomes the first candidate for the job in recent memory to win without the governor’s endorsement, the local newspaper the Argus Leader reported.

Lederman decided to run early last month. In April 2015, he resigned his state senate seat in mid-term in order to spend more time with his family. At the time, he did not discount running for office in the future,

“He’s somebody who clearly could be governor, congressman, senator,” Matt Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, told JTA in a 2011 interview. “He’s somebody who is totally committed to his constituents.”