The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Tarrant County Republican Party can temporarily fill a precinct chair position as a lawsuit concerning the contested race proceeds to make its way through the courts.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Chris Rector won the Tarrant County Precinct 4230 race on March 5, however, evidence surfaced of Rector’s alleged Democratic Party leanings.
Tarrant County Republican Chairman Bo French sent a letter on March 13 accusing Rector of pretending to be a Republican. He also refused to certify the election, according to Fort Worth Report. Rector subsequently sued the party.
Steve Maxwell, an attorney for Rector, previously asked an appeals court to block the party from filling the precinct chair position until the legal battle was settled. The judges granted the relief, which prompted Tarrant County Republican Party attorney Tony McDonald to file a petition to the Texas Supreme Court.
McDonald argued that the relief violated the Tarrant County Republican Party’s First Amendment rights. The Texas Supreme Court sided with McDonald and approved a stay of emergency relief, per the Fort Worth Report.
“It is unfortunate that we have been required to take this matter to the Supreme Court,” McDonald wrote in a statement, reported Fort Worth Report.
“However, we will fight at every level necessary to defend the First Amendment rights of Tarrant County Republicans,” he added.