Texas officials compromised ballot secrecy as they increased election transparency
In limited instances, the choices some Texas voters make can later be identified using public, legally available data. Full Story
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![Super Tuesday voting lines at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center near downtown Houston on March 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP convention kicks off with party leaders attacking Speaker Dade Phelan
Phelan’s foe Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick urged Republicans to stop giving Democrats a say in the speaker election. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at the 2024 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
“The house is on fire”: Texas GOP plots its next chapter amid civil war, depleted staff, funding drops
Under outgoing chair Matt Rinaldi, the party’s donor base has shrunk as it aligns with two far-right megadonors. Full Story
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![Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi gives voting directives during the 5th General Meeting of the 2022 Texas State Republican Convention on June 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Briana Vargas for The Texas Tribune -
Far-right activist Jonathan Stickland starts new group, months after white supremacist scandal
The former lawmaker registered “RaTmasTeR Holdings” along with Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi. The name is a nod to Stickland’s alias as an infamous internet troll. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, on the House floor on May 21, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Race to succeed Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi has become referendum on his tenure
Some Republicans and candidates are calling for a serious change, warning that the party could be vulnerable in future elections because of the ongoing disunity that has defined Rinaldi’s two terms. Full Story
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![Texas Republican Party Chair candidates Dana Myers, left, and Abraham George.]()
Credit: Campaign websites -
Texas GOP chair candidate tried to confront wife’s alleged lover with a loaded gun, police say
Abraham George is running to lead the state party with backing from current Chair Matt Rinaldi, who announced last week he will not seek reelection. He was not arrested or charged. Full Story
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![Abraham George, chairman of the Collin County Republican party, speaks at the Labor day picnic in Plano, Texas on Sept. 2, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi won’t seek reelection
Rinaldi’s three-year tenure as chair of the GOP saw vicious infighting and historic gains for the state’s far right. Full Story
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![Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi at a press conference on Aug. 30, 2021, amid talk about punishing House Democrats for breaking quorum.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP increasingly considers push to close its primaries
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has talked openly about targeting states like Texas that have open primaries to get a boost over Trump. Full Story
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![Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event ahead of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary election, in Conway, South Carolina on Jan. 28, 2024.]()
Credit: Randall Hill/REUTERS -
Texas GOP vice chair challenges Matt Rinaldi for party leadership
Dana Myers has been critical of the party’s ties to Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a hard-right group that’s been tied to white supremacists. Full Story
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![Former State Rep. Matt Rinaldi spoke to Tarrant county Tea Party supporters in Grapevine for an event called Spread the Red on Oct. 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
“Hold the line”: Republicans rally to Abbott’s defense in border standoff with Biden
From the Texas House to former President Donald Trump, Republicans around the country defended Gov. Greg Abbott’s challenges to the Biden administration's border policies. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott, displays SB 1900, one of six bills he signed during a border security bill signing session at the state capitol in Austin on June 8, 2023. The bills signed include SB 423, SB 602, SB 1133, SB 1403, SB 1484, and SB 1900. “Washington D.C. has failed to do its job to secure the border,” Abbott said. “As a result, Texas has had to take unprecedented steps in responding to the crisis caused by the Biden administration on the border, and in response the Texas legislature has stepped up to make sure that we will be able to more robustly respond.”]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi backed a group with white supremacist ties — while working for its billionaire funder
Farris Wilks is a key funder of Defend Texas Liberty, the state party’s largest donor, which is under fire for its ties to white supremacists Full Story
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![Former state representative Matt Rinaldi spoke to demonstrators at the Governor’s Mansion in protest of Gov. Abbott’s executive orders to close businesses and mandate masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP executive committee rejects proposed ban on associating with Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers
Some members of the committee said such a ban, proposed two months after a prominent conservative activist was caught meeting with a famous white supremacist, might be a “slippery slope” or too vague. Full Story
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![Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP chair stays silent on allies’ connections to antisemitic extremists
Matt Rinaldi has been defiant amid calls for him to cut ties with political ally Jonathan Stickland after meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Rinaldi is also accused of embracing antisemitic leaders of a new young Republicans organization. Full Story
![Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi at a press conference on Aug. 30, 2021, amid talk about punishing House Democrats for breaking quorum.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Conservative PAC leader’s meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes leads to condemnations, escalates GOP infighting
House Speaker Dade Phelan called on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other officials to redirect any money they received from the PAC. Patrick called on Phelan to resign. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the dais in the Senate chamber as senators are in recess at the start of the 3rd special session of the 88th Legislature on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Influential Texas activist Jonathan Stickland hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes at office near Fort Worth
The Texas Tribune also observed Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi outside the building, but he denied meeting Fuentes and denounced him. Full Story
![Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton emerges victorious from yet another career scandal
It marked a screaming milestone in a two-decade political career that has seen Paxton harness the state’s increasingly conservative politics — and later the rise of Donald Trump — to stay in power longer than his vulnerabilities would suggest. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton looks up at the gallery during the first day of his impeachment trial in the Texas Senate chambers at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/Pool via The Dallas Morning News -
After backlash, Abbott expresses some regret after labeling all Cleveland shooting victims “illegal immigrants”
The governor’s focus on immigration status, not the loss of life, draws rebukes from across the country. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
As Donald Trump mounts his 2024 presidential bid, his support among Texas officials is waning
About two months into his comeback bid, few prominent Texas Republicans have endorsed Trump — and some are showing more willingness to cross him publicly. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
After disappointing midterms, Texas GOP votes unanimously for a new national leader
Ronna McDaniel has kept the RNC aligned with former President Donald Trump, who some Republicans have blamed for the party’s underwhelming performance in the midterm elections. Full Story
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![RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at an event for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson in Franklin, Wisconsin on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.]()
Credit: Angela Peterson/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
“We failed”: Gay Republicans who fought for acceptance in Texas GOP see little progress
Gay Republicans who have fought for acceptance within the Texas GOP over the past three decades told The Texas Tribune progress has been excruciatingly slow. Many of them have left the party, even as the number of Log Cabin Republicans in Texas continues to grow. Full Story
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![Dale Carpenter poses for a portrait outside of his home in Dallas, TX on July 8, 2022. In the 1990s Carpenter was the state president of the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization that represents LGBT conservatives, but has since distanced himself from party politics.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune