NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Republican Party's executive committee has elected Chris Devaney chairman for a third time.

Devaney was re-elected without opposition at the panel's meeting in Nashville on Saturday. He was first elected to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor Robin Smith after she left to make an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2009. Devaney was elected to his first full term as chairman the following year.

Devaney was U.S. Sen. Bob Corker's state director before becoming chairman of the party. He previously worked as the party's executive director and as a staffer for former U.S. Sens. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and Phil Gramm of Texas.