| Republican Party of Texas | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Steve Munisteri |
| Senate leader | David Dewhurst |
| House leader | Joe Straus |
| Founded | 1854 |
| Headquarters | 1108 Lavaca, Suite 500 Austin, Texas 78701 |
| Student wing | Texas College Republicans |
| Ideology | Conservatism Fiscal conservatism |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Seats in State Upper Houses |
19 / 31
|
| Seats in State Lower Houses |
101 / 150
|
| Website | |
| www.texasgop.org/ | |
| Politics of the United States Political parties Elections |
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The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is one of the two major political parties in the U.S. State of Texas. It is affiliated with the United States Republican Party. The State Chairman is Steve Munisteri, a retired attorney and businessman from Houston, and the Vice-Chair is Melinda Fredricks of Conroe. The RPT is headquartered in Downtown Austin. The RPT's mission is to promote a conservative philosophy of government by promoting conservative principles and by providing the infrastructure through which those who share our conservative principles can get involved in the political process, run for and be elected to public office, and govern according to our principles when elected. The RPT is legally classified as a political action committee whose structure is determined by state law & by party rules not in conflict with state law.
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Since the days of Reconstruction, the Republican Party of Texas went through over 100 years of being a minority party in the state. In 1870, Edmund Davis was elected Governor, but was soundly defeated in 1874. In the year 1876, Republicans had made gradual gains in Texas, earning nearly one-third of the statewide vote and electing a small number of candidates to the State Legislature (including several African-Americans). However, by the turn of the century, the Republican Party all but disappeared from Texas with the passage of poll taxes that many poor Texans could not afford to pay. The first Republican statewide primary was held in 1926, but drew only 15,239 voters. By contrast, the Democrat primary in the same year drew 821,234 voters. Only two more Republican primaries would be attempted in the next thirty-four years.[1]
The first signs of life in the modern Republican Party of Texas occurred after U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Vice-President in 1960, when Texas Republicans claimed their first U.S. Senate victory with the election of John Tower in a special election held in May 1961. Tower would serve in this position until his retirement in 1985. In 1966, two Republicans were elected to the US House of Representatives, including future President George H.W. Bush for the first time since Reconstruction, three Republicans were elected to the Texas House of Representatives and one Republican was elected to the Texas Senate. By 1972, Texas Republicans had made gains to 17 members of the Texas Legislature and 3 members of the Texas Senate.[1]
The true turning point for Texas Republicans occurred in the May 1976 primary, when Ronald Reagan defeated Gerald Ford by a two to one margin in the state's presidential primary. According to former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, due to Reagan's victory in the Texas primary, "the whole shape and nature of the state changed."[2]
104 years after the last Republican governor, Bill Clements eked out a narrow victory in November 1978. Together, Clements and Tower combined their organizational skills to continue building the RPT and started laying the groundwork for future growth. In 1984, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Phil Gramm led a GOP ticket that heavily relied upon the RPT to provide a centralized network of communications. Throughout the rest of the decade, the total Republican vote continued to increase and the party made large gains in both the state legislature and in local races.[1]
Since 1994, every statewide elected office has been held by a Republican. Furthermore, both houses of the Texas Legislature feature Republican majorities. In the State House, Republicans hold a supermajority of 101 Republican representatives in the 150-member body,[3] and in the Texas Senate, Republicans hold 19 of 31 seats. Both houses are officially organized on a bipartisan basis, with both Republicans and Democrats holding committee chairs.
At the federal level, the Texas Congressional delegation is currently composed of 23 Republicans and 9 Democrats and both of its US Senators are Republican. The last time Texas was carried by a Democratic presidential candidate was in 1976.
The Republican Party of Texas controls all elected statewide offices, holds a 19-12 majority in the Texas Senate, and a 101-49 supermajority in the Texas House of Representatives. Republicans also hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 23 of the state's 32 U.S. House seats.
The official college Republican Party of Texas' student wing is Texas College Republicans, which has over 35 chapters statewide.[4]
The Texas Federation of Republican Women (TFRW) is a volunteer women's organization that has "long-standing goals of education, training, participation in government, electing Republicans and encouraging Republican women to run for office". TFRW has 164 local clubs across Texas with over 10,000 members. [5]
The Texas Republican County Chairmen's Association (TRCCA) is composed of the elected chairman of the county Republican party organizations in Texas and operates to support and provide networking opportunities for elected Republican county chairmen in Texas.[6]
The Texas Young Republican Federation (TYRF) is an organization composed of Young Republican clubs across Texas which are open to registered voters who are between the ages of 18 and 40 years old. The TYRF goals are grassroots activism, leadership development, community service and club development.[7]
The Texas Federation for Republican Outreach is committed to increasing participation and affiliation of African-American voters within the Republican Party, and to increase the number of elected Republican African-American candidates in Texas.[8]
The Texas Republican Assembly is a grassroots volunteer organization dedicated to promoting and electing conservative Republican candidates in Texas. There are six charter clubs across Texas.[9]
The Republican National Hispanic Assembly has a chapter in Texas, whose mission is to increase participation and affiliation of Hispanic American voters within the Republican Party, and to increase the number of elected Republican Hispanic candidates in Texas.[10]
The Latino National Republican Coalition of Texas believes "in active civic engagement as a means to bridge the gap between the Hispanic Community and the GOP." There are five chapters throughout Texas.[11]
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