The Republican Party of Texas elected Abraham George as its new chair during its biennial convention, which was held over the weekend.
George, the former Collin County Republican Party chair, succeeded outgoing chair Matt Rinaldi. He won in a crowded race against five other candidates: current party vice-chair Dana Myers, Weston Martinez, Ben Armenta, Mike Garcia, and Travis County Republican Party chair Matt Mackowiak.
“I am humbled and honored to have received the support of thousands of my fellow Republicans and be elected as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas,” George said at the convention, per The Texan.
George led the Senate District caucuses votes with 14 votes, while Martinez and Myers each got six. The other candidates were eliminated before the vote reached the floor. George and Myers came out on top in the first round of voting, and Martinez was eliminated from the running. The second round of voting saw George win against Myers.
Tarrant County Republican Party chair Bo French was enthusiastic about the new state party chair and thanked outgoing Rinaldi for his time at the helm.
“Under the leadership of Matt Rinaldi, the Texas GOP finally made progress in getting a more conservative agenda across the finish line. He elevated the Party in a way that also brought historic victories for conservatives this primary season,” French told The Dallas Express.
“Abraham George is the kind of Chairman that will follow in Matt’s footsteps, doing even more. I expect the 2025 legislative season will set the bar even higher for what Republicans can accomplish here in Texas,” he added.
Republican Party of Texas (RPT) delegates also voted on Saturday on a new platform, which includes calls to require the Bible to be taught in public schools and a constitutional amendment requiring state officials to win the popular vote in the majority of counties in Texas, reported The Texas Tribune.
Other planks of the platform include declaring gender-transition procedures for children a form of “child abuse” and calls for the reversal of recent name changes at military bases in the state.
One major change the RPT made was passing a new rule to close the primaries.
Under the new rule, to vote in the Republican primary, an individual must have voted in a previous Republican primary election or runoff, be a registered member of the RPT, submit a written certificate of affiliation with the RPT, or be under the age of 21 and voting in their first primary election.
“We support protecting the integrity of the Republican Primary Election by requiring a closed primary system in Texas. While we welcome people to join the Republican Party who support limited government and traditional values, we oppose campaigns to get liberal Democrats to cross over and move the Republican Party to the left in the primary,” the platform states.
French also expressed his enthusiasm for the new rule.
“Closed primaries are critical to expanding on the success Republicans have had. Far too often, thousands of Democrats are voting in Republican primaries and changing the outcome. Some of these races are decided by razor-thin margins, and as Republicans, we want conservatives to win,” he told DX. “Obviously, Democrats are helping select uniparty establishment candidates who don’t champion our conservative platform. Closed primaries solve this problem.”