Texas Republican delegates approved a new rule barring people convicted of certain felonies from serving in most party leadership positions.
Delegates adopted the rule by voice vote during the 2026 Republican Party of Texas convention in Houston, the San Antonio Report reported. The rule applies to people convicted under the Texas Penal Code and bars them from most party leadership roles until 20 years after completing their sentence.
The rule change came as delegates gathered to elect new party leadership and debate the future direction of the state GOP.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Vice Chair D’rinda Randall defeated incumbent Chairman Abraham George and will assume leadership of the Republican Party of Texas. George was first elected chairman in 2024, succeeding former Chairman Matt Rinaldi.
Bexar County delegate Justin Nichols introduced the amendment after an intra-party dispute involving a local precinct chair with a violent criminal record, according to the San Antonio Report.
“I wrote the rule with a narrow purpose,” Nichols said, according to the San Antonio Report. “… I’m not here to debate the greater question for the national party.”
Nichols argued that the rule would still allow people with felony convictions to participate as delegates while preventing them from holding positions of influence inside the party.
Some Republicans opposed the change, arguing that the party should allow people who have reformed their lives to participate more fully.
“We must be more inclusive,” San Antonio Republican Patty Gibbons said, according to the San Antonio Report. “Even our president is a convicted felon, and he is the leader of our party.”
Nichols defended the rule as a protection for a party that frequently campaigns on law-and-order issues.
“It seems like there’s this group of people who come and try to get involved, who are oftentimes disruptors, agitators, who cause a great deal of unnecessary headaches for the party — they’re the ones with felony convictions,” Nichols said. “So the feedback that I have gotten is that this is a welcome change.”
The rule adds another flashpoint from the Texas GOP convention, where delegates also replaced George with Randall as chairwoman ahead of the November elections.
