Mysterious mailers from a newly formed political group are roiling Republican precinct chair races in Tarrant County as early voting is underway.
Voters in North Fort Worth and Keller started receiving glossy mailers from an entity calling itself the Texas Reform Accountability Project (TRAP) backing several Republican precinct chair candidates — including Colin Hodges, Barbara Brewer, and Sylvester Vanerson.
The messaging on the mailers portrays each candidate as a “strong conservative Republican,” despite some of the candidates having alleged ties to Democrats. The mailers are identical in layout and design, featuring each candidate’s name placed above the same stock image of a smiling family holding an American flag. The image does not depict any of the candidates. The only visible differences among the mailers are the candidate names. None of the mailers specifies the precinct number in which the candidate is running.
Each mailer states TRAP paid for it
and lists a McAllen address. A website printed on the materials was not operational as of publication.
Public records indicate that TRAP and several regional organizations were established on February 5 or 6, 2026, just days before early voting began. There is very limited publicly available information about TRAP and its apparent treasurer, Josh Shultz.
Kenya Alu, the incumbent precinct chair in Precinct 3486, who is being challenged by Hodges, said she knows little about the group but questioned its motives.
“I don’t know a lot about them, except that they are supporting very… moderate, if [they are] even Republican candidates,” Alu told DX. “They’re sending mailers and text messages on behalf of these candidates. However, they’re all using stock photos. And there’s no personalization. All the mailers look the same, despite which candidate they’re promoting.”
Alu added that she believes the effort may be intended “to create chaos and to infiltrate the party from within.”
She also alleged that Hodges congratulated a Democratic precinct chair candidate in her area and “refused to support [the Republican candidate, Leigh Wambsganss] when point-blank asked by constituents in our precinct” during a recent special election for Senate District 9. Hodges did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Precinct 3696, Incumbent Ruth Ray is being challenged by Barbara Brewer. Ray criticized what she described as outside interference.
“The sudden appearance of the ‘Texas Reform Accountability Project’ should concern every local Republican voter,” Ray said in a text message to DX. “This McAllen-based group is flooding our mailboxes and texts with generic, cookie-cutter ads that don’t even use real photos of the candidates they’re pushing.”
Ray also questioned the “MAGA” branding on material supporting her opponent and pointed to what she described as inconsistencies between some candidates’ campaign messaging and past Democrat aligned social media activity. Brewer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Tim Davis said the party is aware of the mailers but does not know whether the candidates themselves solicited the support.
“We don’t know whether these precinct chair [candidates] are aware of who’s supporting them,” Davis said. “You know, we kind of all give them the benefit of the doubt. But I mean, it is very clear that this one PAC is led by a Democrat.”
The organization Davis referred to is the Texas Leadership Alliance, formed in El Paso in early February. The treasurer is listed as Alex Melendez in state filings. There are several people with identical names listed in the Texas Ethics Commission database, each of whom donated mostly to Democrats.
Davis added that he was not in a position to comment on whether any campaign finance violations had occurred.
“We don’t want interference in our party processes from people who don’t subscribe to our party’s values,” Davis said.
Precinct chair positions are unpaid party roles responsible for organizing volunteers and turning out voters at the neighborhood level. While often low-profile, they can play a key role in local political infrastructure.
Vanerson is running against Rod Dewalt in precinct 4250. Vanerson did not immediately return a request for comment. Dewalt could not be reached for comment.
Neither TRAP nor Texas Leadership Alliance could be reached for comment about its funding sources, leadership structure, or involvement in the races.
With early voting underway, Davis said the ultimate decision rests with voters.
“The voters will decide,” he said. “Do your research and make sure that the person that you’re voting for stands for the things that are important to you.”
Early began on February 17 and continues until February 27. Election Day is March 3.