Tarrant GOP Votes Unanimously to Hold Precinct Conventions
The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Tarrant County held an emergency meeting Saturday, March 10, 2012 and voted without objection to hold precinct conventions on or about April 3rd. The exact time, date, and locations are to be finalized but will be published at http://tcgop.org and announced to the media as soon as they are available.
Lawsuits over redistricting lines have delayed the party primary and convention process statewide and prompted the State Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas to vote February 29th to remove the normal requirement for each county to hold precinct conventions. Instead, each county party will only hold precinct conventions if the county executive committee votes to do so. The Tarrant GOP was instrumental in convincing the RPT to preserve at least the option for each county to hold precinct conventions instead of canceling them outright as the Texas Democratic Party has done.
“Precinct conventions are fundamental to the Republican Party’s goal of maintaining a grassroots party organized from the bottom-up,” said Tarrant GOP Chairman Jennifer Hall. “They are the first opportunity for Republican voters to organize in their neighborhoods and elect representatives from among themselves to carry their voices forward to the State Convention. The TCGOP’s unanimous vote Saturday shows that we understand this and we are dedicated to doing the work necessary to remain conservative and preserve precinct conventions, regardless of the unique challenges presented by this election cycle.”
The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Tarrant County is made up of the County Chair and all elected Republican Precinct Chairs. Other business at Saturday’s emergency meeting included the drawing for placement order on the Republican Primary ballot and election of temporary chairmen for each of the four Tarrant County senatorial district conventions that will occur on April 21st.
Contact:
Brandon Moore
2405 Gravel Drive Fort Worth, TX 76118
Ph. 817-601-5892
Tarrant County Republican Candidates
Filing for the 2012 Republican Primary has now closed and here is a list of your local candidates.
Information on Statewide Filings is now updated. Filing Page will be available under Primary Election tab in Header.
Emergency Executive Committee Meeting March 10th
Mark your calendar for this coming Saturday’s emergency meeting.
The meeting will be held at Lamar High School in Arlington and will begin at 10:00 am, with a 9:30 social.
Read the attached Tarrant County Republican Party announcement for full details and agenda.
Texas Primary Set for May 29, 2012
It was announced today that the Texas Primary will be held on May 29, 2012.
The first day to file an application for a place on the Primary Ballot during the reopened filing period will be Friday, March 2, 2012 and must be done none later than 6:00 pm on March 9, 2012.
Feel free to read the 2012 redistricting order in it’s entirety for more details.
Jean McIver: SREC Committee Woman Recovering
We regret to report that Jean McIver, SREC Committee Woman for SD 12, was
struck by a car while walking to her own vehicle in a parking lot
yesterday. Details at this point are preliminary. We know that she has
several broken bones, but is awake and conversing with family members.
She is being treated at Medical Center Plano, but has asked for no visitors
at this time. She requests prayers for healing and wisdom for her
physicians.
The Party will move a little slower without her enthusiasm and effort, we ask you to pray for her speedy recovery.
State Republican Executive Committee To Hold Emergency Session on Wednesday February 29, 2012
To All Republican Party Members,
As most Republican Party members are aware, the Texas Primary process has been complicated by the federal courts and it has become extremely confusing. In order for Texas to be able to have Delegates to send to the National Convention, a modified convention process must take place outside of the Texas Primary.
The State Republican Executive Committee is scheduled to meet in Austin for an emergency session on Wednesday February 29, 2012. Committee members will discuss and consider possible rule changes that will allow for an alternative Convention Process. While still fluid and under discussion, the current drafts create logistical problems for Tarrant County as a whole. Republican activists from Tarrant County are working with local State Republican Executive Committee members to suggest changes to resolve these problems. Please have patience with this process, and you can refer to one of our local SREC rules committee representative’s blogs on the subject here and here.
What is clear at this time is that the State Republican Convention is still scheduled to take place June 7-9, in Fort Worth. The local Convention process will be the topic of discussion and voted on at the Emergency State Republican Executive Meeting on February 29, 2012. The adopted rules will be posted on this website as soon as they become final. Also, Tarrant County Executive Committee members should be prepared for the possibility of an “emergency executive committee” meeting being called in response to the finalized rule changes.
All Republican Party members must be aware that voter registration requirements will still be included, regardless of the final outcome. Any prospective delegate will be required to be registered 30 days prior to the start of the convention process. In certain scenarios, this date is close at hand, so we encourage anyone who is not registered to register before the end of the month to ensure your eligibility in the Convention Process.
We would also like to point out that because of the continuing court battle over maps to conduct our Primary, the Tarrant County Elections Administration has not sent out new Voter Registration Cards. This does not mean that you are not registered, as has been suggested on some websites and chat forums. The new cards have simply not been mailed out because some districts are still in dispute. You can view Tarrant County Elections Administration statement on this subject here and you can check your voter registration status at the Tarrant County Elections website here.
Jennifer Hall
Tarrant County Republican Party Chair
Republican Party of Texas: An Update from Steve Munisteri
Steve Munisteri, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, shares more insight on what Texas might be up against in the Primary Election.
When I retired from practicing law three years ago, I thought my days in the courtroom were behind me. Unfortunately, the majority of my focus in January has been on the redistricting lawsuits and other legal matters. In fact, we are still involved in multiple lawsuits over redistricting (including one in which the City of Austin and Travis County are plaintiffs at taxpayer expense.) As we’ve reported through a series of redistricting updates, there is still uncertainty as to when our Texas primaries will be held and this makes it impossible for us to make final arrangements for delegate selection to our State Convention and to prepare for ballot drawings, candidates to re-file, etc.
What I believe is clear at this time is that we will not have an April 3rd primary, nor an April 10th primary. There is still some chance we will have an April 17th primary if maps can be put in place by February 20th. As reported on Monday this week, the Attorney General has put forth proposed maps. These maps were agreed to by a significant number of plaintiffs groups, but were opposed by the Texas Democratic Party and other Democratic groups. The San Antonio three-judge panel did not accept these maps and indicated rather that the two sides should continue to negotiate. My best guess is that there will not be an agreement between all the parties, and therefore we will move forward with a trial this week on the State Senate seat currently held by Democratic Senator Wendy Davis, as well as moving forward with a hearing on (presumably) all the issues, next Wednesday – February 15th.
We continue to advocate the Republican Party of Texas’ position that it is still within the Court’s power to accomplish a single unified April primary. This will require the Court to make a decision shortly after the hearing next week as to which districts (if any) need to be redrawn, then accomplishing the redrawing of the maps by the following week. In the event that this does not happen, I have been evaluating several fallback plans that I will discuss with Party leadership and our attorneys over the next few weeks. However the Court rules, certainty is an ally of accomplishing an orderly convention and primary process.
Fortunately, the Presidential race appears to still have a long ways to go and this increases the likelihood that even a later Texas Presidential primary will still have an impact on the selection of our nominee. There has been a lot of misinformation put out by the media indicating that the race is farther along in the process than it really is. For example, several news media outlets list Governor Mitt Romney as having over 100 delegates. This number is inaccurate – these media outlets apparently include, for example, an allocation of the 28 Iowa delegates despite the fact that no Iowa delegates have been selected yet. The Presidential vote at the Iowa caucus was just a straw poll – the actual delegate selection is a three-step process starting with precinct caucuses, then district caucuses, then finally, Congressional district caucuses at which the final delegates are selected. Delegates don’t even have to state their preference as to who they are pledged to until the final convention.
The Republican National Committee puts out an official delegate tally every week or so (click on the photo at right to see the latest chart.) Just last night, there were contests in three states that have received much media attention – but all three of those states were non-binding caucus or primary states! The official current delegate count which I received today from the RNC is: Romney at 73, Gingrich at 29, Paul at 8, and Santorum at 3. Thus we have a very long way to go in deciding our nominee – as it requires 1144 delegates to get the nomination and it is mathematically impossible for any candidate to obtain a majority of the delegates before the end of May. Therefore, if we have a Presidential primary in April – there is still a good chance that Texas can have an impact on the Presidential nominee choice. I would also note, that even through Super Tuesday – only 642 total delegates will have been selected. Texas is a huge prize. There are only two states which have more than 76 delegates – one is California with 174 and Texas has 155. Our impact is magnified by the fact that numerous of the early primary states had their delegate allocations cut in half for violating the RNC’s primary schedule. For example, Florida (which normally would have 100 delegates) only has 50 this year – meaning that Texas is worth more than three Florida’s. In my opinion, the race is far from over and any one of the four current candidates still has a chance to accumulate significant delegate blocs. There is also an outside chance that we could have a brokered convention which would make Texas a huge player in picking our Republican nominee.
Speaking of the Republican National Committee, National Committeeman and RNC General Counsel Bill Crocker, National Committeewoman Borah Van Dormolen and myself, all attended the RNC’s bi-annual meetings which were held in New Orleans the week of January 9th. There, we received the good news from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus that during the past year of his chairmanship, he was able to significantly reduce the outstanding debt of the RNC by several million dollars while at the same time increasing the party’s cash balances into eight figures. This is a strong improvement of the party’s financial position as compared to when he took office in January 2011. There were various committee meetings and seminars presented at the national meetings and I was asked to make a presentation on our Grassroots Club to the State Chairmen at the State Chairman’s Association meeting. I also made a presentation to the Southern Regional Chairmen and Committeepersons as to the importance of outreach among the Hispanic and African-American communities. Borah Van Dormolen is on the committee of Convention Arrangements and worked on that issue. Bill Crocker, who also serves as RNC General Counsel, attended all official committee meetings in addition to the regular sessions and he also dealt with all the legal issues affecting the national party. Bill Crocker is serving his last term as National Committeeman for Texas. He has served very ably and will be missed. Fortunately, he will continue on as General Counsel for the RNC – we are very glad to have a Texan represented on the Officials Committee of the national party!
The third week of January, after I returned from the RNC meeting, I was back on the road, as I traveled to Harris County where I spoke to the San Jacinto Republican Club. SREC members Rex Teter and Glenda Bowles were there, and there was a terrific turnout. The following day we had a tele-townhall conference with statewide Republican leadership where Senator John Cornyn provided an update on events in Washington, D.C. and answered questions from the callers. Later in the week, I had an opportunity to have a meeting with Bill Crocker and Borah Van Dormolen to discuss RNC issues, as well as to meet with a group of Republican judges concerning the judicial elections.
The following week I had an opportunity to be a guest on Lubbock radio, met with several of our legislators in Austin, and traveled to San Marcos to speak at Texas State University College Republicans’ meeting. That week was also taken up with our lawyers filing an advisory with the San Antonio three-judge panel, requesting that they move up their scheduled February 1st hearing to an earlier date. The Court accommodated this request and scheduled a hearing for Friday, January 27th. Thus the end of the week was taken up preparing for and attending that hearing, which went into the evening on Friday the 27th. The following day I traveled to Waller County and was their keynote speaker at the Waller County Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner. I closed out the month by visiting with Comptroller Susan Combs, who has maintained a very active interest in the health of the RPT and she visits with us from time to get an update and status on our progress. She not only provides excellent political and financial advice, but is also a strong financial supporter of the RPT and recently renewed her Chairman’s Circle membership by donating an additional $25,000 to the Party. If you see her, please thank her for her generosity!
In previous Chairman’s Updates, I noted concern that fundraising has been difficult in the current environment with so much uncertainty over the election dates and so many candidates raising money at the same time we are. I set a goal of attempting to maintain at least a half-million dollar cushion for the RPT, while continuing to pay all our bills to zero every month. Part of my concern on the finances is the constant drain of legal fees for all of the various suits in which we are involved. Fortunately, we receive a lot of free legal help as well as work on a reduced-fee basis. For example, Chris Ward at the law firm of Yetter Coleman LLP, saved us a considerable amount of money in January by filing a brief for us before the U.S. Supreme Court, pro bono. Moreover, because of the primary season we’ve had to add additional full-time temporary help in order to have adequate staff to handle filing and to be available to answer questions from candidates which are voluminous because of the uncertainty of the primaries.
Fortunately, I’m happy to report that we have been able to continue to pay our bills to zero every couple of weeks and currently have on-hand approximately $600,000 of non-dedicated funds, including the $100,000 in our Rainy Day Fund. We have also been able to sign up people for the Grassroots Club and now have had more than 1,300 sign up since the inception of the program 16 months ago. I have also been encouraged by the continued support of some of our elected officials and specifically by elected officials either signing up, or renewing their Chairman’s Circle membership. In addition to Comptroller Susan Combs renewing her membership last month, State Senator Glenn Hegar was also added to the Chairman’s Circle and he has been providing very generous financial support to the RPT as well. Membership renewals have recently gone out in the mail, and we encourage you to renew your financial membership in the Party if you have not already done so – early returns have been very positive.
We continue to plan for the 2012 Election working closely with our Victory Chairman, Ed Emmett, on timelines and budgets. We will have a specific report on this shortly.
I am presuming that a significant portion of my time over the next few weeks will again be spent on the redistricting issues in front of the San Antonio three-judge panel. Once the Court finally issues new maps, I suspect we will be in a sprint to get ready for our primaries and State Convention. I appreciate everybody’s patience in the meantime.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our hard-working County Chairs and Precinct Chairs who are under increased stress as a result of not being able to plan for ballot drawings, precinct conventions, district conventions, etc. I know it is creating extra stress for you – as the situation is also creating extra stress for myself and the RPT staff. I hope you will stick with us and continue your work for the Party despite these trying circumstances. I feel confident that if we can avoid getting discouraged, that we will be able to come up with solutions and in the end, all the aggravation will be worth it if we prevail in November.
For any of you who may be a little down over the situation, I suggest you visualize Inauguration Day next year… as we watch President Obama leave the Oval Office and our Republican nominee being sworn in. That should put a big smile on your face – it certainly does mine.
Steve Munisteri, Chairman, Republican Party of Texas
Redistricting Update
Here is an interesting update from the Republican Party of Texas that might clear up any questions you have about the current redistricting in Texas.
The Republican Party of Texas has received numerous emails and calls over the last few days inquiring about the status of the redistricting lawsuit. It has become apparent as a result of these questions, that many of our Republican activists are confused as to what issues are actually before the San Antonio three-judge panel, what the Supreme Court decision actually meant for the process, and what the role of RPT is in this process.
This confusion was heightened by a wholly inaccurate story in “The Hill” (a DC publication), which was then reinterpreted and disseminated through email chains this weekend. This particular article and the emails spreading it, stated that the Republican Party of Texas was in the process of negotiating trading Congressional districts in return for (among other things) saving a convention deposit. These false reports were sent out despite the fact that the Party has sent out regular updates on exactly what was occurring, including one on Saturday that clearly stated “The Republican Party of Texas has not been invited to participate in these discussions…”
Understandably, this has been a confusing time for party activists and candidates. Among the general confusion, these sorts of emails and reports have heightened many questions, so in this update, the RPT would like to explain the current situation as we best understand it.
As a piece of important background to first discuss – the legislative maps were originally drawn by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor. Various plaintiffs’ groups (who include: MALC, NAACP, LULAC, Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force and Democratic elected officials) filed suit against the Speaker of the House, the Governor, the Lt. Governor, the State of Texas and both the Texas Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Texas, to prevent elections using the legislatively drawn maps. The state and the elected officials were named, presumably, because they are the entity that created the maps. As best as we can tell – the state parties’ were sued to enjoin the chairmen from holding primaries under the lines drawn by the Legislature.
The Attorney General represents the State of Texas and the elected officials who are defendants in the suits. It is his office that is charged with actually defending the State and its maps. The RPT’s position is that we were not even a necessary party to the original lawsuits because we did not draw the maps and are not charged with the responsibility of defending them. We also argued that there was no reason to enjoin the Party from holding the primary in the legislatively-drawn districts because the Party would use whatever maps became final by Court order. Consequently, at the beginning of the original trial in front of the San Antonio three-judge panel, not only was the Republican Party of Texas dismissed from the lawsuit, but so were the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House, as neither were considered necessary parties. The case proceeded to a trial with Attorney General Abbott and his team defending the State of Texas and its maps. The Democratic plaintiffs sought and received from the San Antonio three-judge panel, an injunction preventing the maps enacted by the legislature from being used in the 2012 elections prior to being precleared under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Due to this injunction, interim maps had to be drawn, and were issued by this same court last November in a split (2-1) vote.
Meanwhile, Senator Wendy Davis filed a new lawsuit just on her district, and again included the Republican Party of Texas. We have been seeking dismissal in that case as well, but as of this date, we have not been dismissed. The Republican Party of Texas has filed numerous advisories to alert the court that as they move forward in scheduling primaries, that they needed to be aware of potential consequences to the Party’s precinct conventions, county conventions, state conventions, as well as time periods necessary to accomplish getting out early ballots, complying with the MOVE act, etc.
When the Supreme Court agreed to hear Attorney General Abbott’s appeal of the three-judge panel’s decision issuing interim maps, the Supreme Court consolidated the Davis case with the other cases for purpose of their action. This move put the Republican Party of Texas as a party to the case in front of the Supreme Court. That is why the Republican Party of Texas filed a brief with the Supreme Court as to issues pertaining to the Primary scheduling and urging the Supreme Court for a quick ruling and action in the case. As noted in previous reports, that effort was successful and the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the San Antonio three-judge panel for further action.
The three-judge panel is only considering interim maps, not final maps. This is an important distinction, but it has been confusing to many for what it means. When the legislative maps were challenged, the three-judge panel was tasked with getting a preliminary ruling on maps because a final ruling could not be issued until all the potential legal challenges are resolved, including challenges to the maps before a different three-judge panel in Washington D.C. which is dealing with alleged violations of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
When the Supreme Court issued its opinion, it ruled that the three-judge panel had gone too far for multiple reasons. For example, the three-judge panel revised lines in some districts so as not to split precinct lines, and indicated that they did so for the greater public good. The Supreme Court ruled that the three-judge panel did not have the right to alter lines on this basis because the Legislature allowed the splitting of precinct lines, and it was beyond the scope of their duty to create their own maps based on the public good. Thus, a logical conclusion from this portion of the ruling is that the districts that were altered by the San Antonio three-judge panel, on this basis alone, should be restored to the legislatively drawn lines. We expect that they will be.
However, there were also challenges to the district lines on the basis of alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act – Sections 2 and 5 in particular. The Supreme Court indicated that the San Antonio three-judge panel could not presume that the legislative map violated those sections without there first having been a judicial determination of that fact. But the Supreme Court also indicated that the three judge panel could alter the legislative lines if they determined there was “reasonable probability” that the maps would be found in violation of the Voting Rights Act. To complicate things further, there is action in front of the previously mentioned three-judge panel in Washington D.C., which is determining whether certain Texas districts actually do violate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Their ruling has not come down yet – but the plaintiffs have been arguing in front of the San Antonio three-judge panel to delay any additional rulings on the maps until that three-judge panel in Washington D.C. rules, so that final maps can be put into place.
Since there is no guarantee that we can get a ruling anytime soon, or get a ruling in time to accomplish a timely primary election, and since the Supreme Court did not say to wait on that ruling – the Attorney General’s office has been pushing for an immediate decision by the San Antonio three-judge panel. This is a position that the Republican Party of Texas thinks is reasonable and which we support.
One thing needs to be clearly understood about the Supreme Court’s decision so as to understand where we are in the process. When the Supreme Court ruled that the San Antonio three-judge panel’s maps were stayed, the Supreme Court did not reinstate the legislature’s maps, but instead, gave the task of redrawing maps back to the same San Antonio three-judge panel with the instructions to draw new maps in accordance with the criteria of their decision. This means that it will be the San Antonio three-judge panel that ultimately draws new maps, and they are still allowed to alter the Legislature’s maps if the panel determines there’s a reasonable probability of violations.
In comments on Friday, the San Antonio three-judge panel signaled that it would be helpful to them if the Attorney General (who represents the State and its maps) and the Democratic plaintiffs groups would get together and discuss if there is agreement on which districts there are areas of disputes over possible violations. By narrowing the number of contentious districts to a manageable number, it increases the likelihood that the San Antonio three-judge panel will be able to draw maps in time for an April primary. The agreement talks on this issue are going on exclusively between the plaintiff’s groups and the Attorney General and his team. The Republican Party of Texas has not been involved, nor invited, into these discussions as previously noted. The Party is told from time to time that the discussions are going on, and that they are significant, but it is not told the substance of the discussions. It is not unusual for parties to discussions to ask all the participants to keep talks confidential.
We are awaiting word from the Attorney General, in conjunction with the plaintiff’s groups, as to whether they can agree on which districts are in dispute, and which ones are not. Even after they report back to the San Antonio three-judge panel as to what they can and cannot agree on, the Court has made clear that any agreement between these two parties is not a true “settlement”. The three judges have been clear that the Court will be the only entity that decides upon the final lines for the new districts. The Court has also made clear that if the districts in dispute can be narrowed down, and if there is some agreement as to what is not in dispute by February 6, that there is still a good chance that Texas can have an April 3rd primary as long as the San Antonio three-judge panel can draw lines by February 6.
We will know if we can have an April 3rd primary by the end of the day on February 6th at the very latest.
As to a discussion on the state parties’ conventions – even if maps are not entered by February 6th, the Democratic Party and Republican Party entered into talks at the hearing on Friday, and subsequently advised the Court that they could still accomplish their state conventions (which both parties have scheduled during the first week of June) if the primary is held by April 17th. Since the Court previously indicated that an April 3rd primary could be held if maps were ready by February 6th, logic would dictate that if maps are obtained by February 20th, that we could still have a primary on April 17th. It is important to note, that the talks between the Democratic and Republican parties deal solely with the deadlines and scheduling of the primary election, not with the boundaries of state legislative or Congressional districts. Only the Attorney General’s office’s attorneys are involved in those discussions. Thus, the email chains that have gone out accusing the Republican Party of Texas of trying to save a convention deposit in exchange for district lines, are blatantly false.
As noted earlier, we are not even involved in the discussion of district lines. Furthermore, as was just previously explained, we do not need maps by February 6th to hold our state conventions on their current scheduled dates. We can get maps as late as February 20th and still accomplish these deadlines. It is the hope of the Republican Party of Texas that even if agreements are not worked out between the Attorney General and the plaintiffs’ groups, that the San Antonio three-judge panel would go ahead and issue maps by February 20th. It should also be noted that the Republican Party of Texas is not concerned merely with the convention deposit on the convention center and hotels, but rather we are concerned with the real possibility that there may not be a convention center or hotel rooms available for our 18,000 delegate contingent at a different date. The state convention serves our Party and our grassroots with the very real purpose of selecting the State Party’s officers, adopting its platform, and picking delegates to the national convention who will select our Party’s Presidential nominee. It is an important part of the overall political process.
It is the RPT’s position that a single unified primary still can be obtained sometime in early to mid April which would allow the state conventions to occur on time. It is also our position that such a schedule is not totally dependent upon any agreements between the Attorney General and the plaintiff’s groups, but rather, is within the authority of the San Antonio three-judge panel to draw lines and act quickly to expeditiously move these elections forward.
The State Party’s best guess on what will occur is that the legislative maps will be modified from the original legislatively-drawn lines by the San Antonio three-judge panel, but the modifications will not be as extensive as they were before the Supreme Court ruling. We expect the three-judge panel to issue new interim maps sometime in February. Whenever the maps are final, if they do not accomplish all the Republican Party of Texas’ goals of a fair map which meets the law representative of a strong Republican majority, then the State Party plans to move forward on its previously announced plan of action. That plan of action calls for all of our candidates to the Texas House and State Senate to pledge to support redistricting in 2013. This plan was authorized by the last meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC). In addition, the SREC has voted to place a ballot proposition on our 2012 primary ballot as a referendum on calling on the State Legislature to take up redistricting again in 2013. In the event that the maps are not representative of a strong Republican majority – we will ask all Republican primary voters to support this ballot proposition to encourage our State Legislature to draw new final maps in 2013.
For our part, we will endeavor to keep you fully advised on all developments as soon as practical. If you have any questions regarding this process, or if you receive any information through email chain which causes concern – please contact us with any questions at RPT headquarters. This will greatly help us all to avoid erroneous information from these questionable sources. Thank you for your help and for your support during these unusual times.
February 3rd Ballot Draw Canceled
The February 3rd ballot draw has been canceled.
We will announce when it is rescheduled.
The Candidate Fair is This Saturday
Times:
