Minnesota Republican activists Saturday picked Kelly Fenton to be deputy chair of the party, and by default, the interim chair of the party.

Fenton, from Woodbury, will fill in for former chair Tony Sutton, who resigned from his post suddenly Friday, the day before Saturday's planned central committee meeting. The party's rules say that a new chair must be put in place

She said she was not a candidate to be chair in 30 days.

The GOP is regrouping after leaders departure and more than $500,000 in debt. Before Sutton left he proposed an austere 2012 budget that cut staff and other expenses.

Already, the party has cut back. It laid off about a third of its staff, including its executive director, it's communications director planned no salary for two months and several other staffers cut their salaries or benefits.

David Sturrock, the party treasurer, also said that voter identification, a key party function, was "one of the biggest victims" of the budget crunch.

Activists were unsettled about the budget problems.

"You guys are spending money like the Congress...If you don't have the money, don't spend it," Matt Anderson said from the floor.