By GIL HOFFMANNaftali Bennett after winning the Bayit Yehudi primary(photo credit: Courtesy)
Education Minister Naftali Bennett will remain chairman of Bayit Yehudi after members of the party re-elected him in Thursday's leadership race with 80.3% of the vote.Bennett defeated IDF reserve colonel Yonatan Branski, who finished second with 12.2%, and Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha, who ended up in third place with 7.47%."My dear beloved supporters, we won a giant victory," Bennett said in a message to the activists who volunteered for him. "You fought like tigers all over the country. This is what a party looks like that is strong, alive, and on the way to lead. This is what a party that unites the nation looks like.In a statement to the press, Bennett said: "We will continue our revolution. We have the foundation stone on the way to leading the country."More than 50 percent of Bayit Yehudi's 30,734 voters turned out to vote. Voting was extended by an hour to 11pm due to technical difficulties in polling stations and concerns about low turnout.Both Branski and Zagha intend to seek Knesset seats with the party.