COEUR d'ALENE - The Idaho Republican Party should resolve its very public division after a chaotic state convention by submitting to arbitration, Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little said Friday.

"We got a lot of down-ticket legislative races and other races where we need a strong party," Little said in a meeting with The Press.

He said settling differences through arbitration instead of the courts is preferable.

"I doubt that the Idaho judicial system wants to spend a lot of time dabbling around in Idaho Republican Party politics, and frankly I think (arbitration) is more efficient," Little said.

At the party convention earlier this month in Moscow, Republicans adjourned without a new chairman and failed to pass a single platform amendment. That's the first time in nearly 60 years.

Little said he has been involved in state Republican Party politics for roughly 50 years, and he has never seen times like these.

It's not even certain that embattled state Chairman Barry Peterson remains legitimately in that top position.

"Rules say that the term is from one convention to another, and the convention is up," Little said. "I don't think there's a chairman."

Since the convention ended two weeks ago, establishment Republicans and far-right conservatives have struggled for party control.

Meantime, financial director Mary Tipps Smith has quit, and executive director Trevor Thorpe has resigned.

On Thursday, Peterson hired Judy Gowen - who worked for Gov. Butch Otter's primary opponent, Russ Fulcher - as the party's new executive director.

The divide is partly the result of "a very hotly contested primary," Little said. "And the date of the primary was late and the date of the convention was early, and frankly some of those hard feelings from that battle were still on the surface."

There also is a divide over Idaho's health insurance exchange, he said.

At the convention, there was a challenge to a plank in the state party's platform that calls for a repeal of the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"The platform says that we don't believe in the 17th Amendment, we think that the 17th Amendment ought to be repealed," Little said.

Repeal, which is very unlikely, would mean state legislators in Idaho would pick the state's U.S. senators. That means anyone accepting the party platform agrees that voters shouldn't have the right to pick U.S. senators.