Update from Chairman Dickey — Dec. 10-17


December 18, 2017

Dear Texas Republicans,

Filing period for the primary election has ended, and now we’re able to get a more accurate picture of which candidates will be on the primary ballot in March! Here at RPT Headquarters, we received 322 filings. Many candidate were able to file with their local county party, bringing the total number of Republican candidates to more than 3,600. If you’d like to see all the candidates who have filed, the Secretary of State website listing is your best resource.

As required, I will certify our list of candidates to be on the ballot no later than tomorrow, which enables the individual counties to hold their ballot draw on either Wednesday or Thursday. Ballot Draw is when the candidates or their surrogates gather in each county and draw to determine which order the names will be placed within each race on the ballot.

People & Places

I’m thankful to our wonderful Vice-Chairman Amy Clark, National Committeeman Robin Armstrong, and National Committeewoman Toni Anne Dashiell for representing Texas in Washington, D.C. last week.

They attended a reception with Vice President Pence and his wife on Tuesday evening. On Thursday, they were guests of President Trump and the First Lady at the White House.

Our hardworking headquarters staff took some time Thursday afternoon for a Christmas party. It was my pleasure to join them and thank them for their diligent efforts that are allowing us to close the year so successfully.

 

Report from the Field

This past weekend saw a flurry of activity in South Texas for our Rally in the Valley! Members of our Political Department — State / Political Director Kristy Wilkinson, Hispanic Engagement Director Bianca Gracia, and South Texas Engagement Director Cassie Luevano — were joined by several members of the RNC Hispanic Engagement team.

The team led a Republican Leadership Initiative class, focused on school choice. The training was given in both English and Spanish, with well over 50 individuals in attendance. Our political department will be following up with those who attended to set up 1:1s and further engage them in the political process.

The rest of our field team also stayed busy engaging voters, as you can see from these photo highlights:

Party News

Interns Needed!

We’re looking for capable college-age individuals who’d like to join our team as interns. Our interns are a vital part of our work at our Austin headquarters and at regional centers in Dallas, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio, and remotely. Do you know someone who might be interested?

Interns work with staff on projects such as engagement, communications, fundraising, data, polling, policy implementation, event planning, and community outreach. Many receive college credit for their work. Our interns consistently comment on how much value they receive in their time with us. Please pass this link along to young people in your network: https://txgop.us/RPTinterns  

Legislative Hearings

As you know, our legislature isn’t in session again until 2019. However, right now, the House and Senate are beginning to hold hearings on specific items — called “interim charges.” They’re studying major issues such as health care reform, reducing the tax burden, school choice, Second Amendment rights, and religious freedoms. CLICK HERE to see the full list.

Although bills cannot be passed since we’re not within an actual legislative session, these interim hearings are the Legislature’s way of reaching out for public input so they can be better prepared to pass legislation in 2019. If you’d like to stay updated on the interim hearings and learn how you can participate in the issues you care about most, please join our STAT team — CLICK HERE.

Lawsuit Filed

My final piece of news is that last Friday, RPT filed a lawsuit. Congressman Farenthold has formally requested to withdraw from the race, and the Party believes it’s in our best interest to accommodate his request and remove him from the ballot. Unfortunately, there are some incongruous deadlines under Texas law that prevent this from happening. With this filing we are asking a federal court to resolve this issue and achieve the common-sense result that all parties want and that respects our right of freedom of association. It’s our expectation that this matter will be resolved quickly. Regardless of the result we are prepared to quickly move on to electing more Republicans throughout the great state of Texas.

In Case You Missed It . . .

News Articles:

Press releases:

Coming Up Next

December 11: Last day for candidate filing (see filing info)

December 20/21 Ballot Draws (each county determines its own time and location)

January 26/27: 2018 Q1 SREC meeting

January 31–February 3: RNC Winter Meeting in Washington, DC

March 6–24: Precinct Conventions

April 6/7: 2018 Q2 SREC meeting

I’m happy to let you know that we have confirmed the location for the 2018 SREC meetings. We’ll be staying at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Austin.

May your Christmas be blessed and filled with joy as you celebrate the birth of a child, the appearance of a King, and the hope of a Redeemer. Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

Sincerely,

James Dickey