Dear Texas Republicans,

I have so much to share with you! I just returned from a week in D.C. where National Committeeman Robin Armstrong, National Committeewoman Toni Anne Dashiell and I represented Texas at the Republican National Committee. The previous weekend, our State Republican Executive Committee met and accomplished a significant amount of business.  Check out the “Party News” section for a full report on the SREC and RNC meetings. And don’t miss the “Report from the Field” which details what our field staff are doing day in and day out to keep Texas winning in 2018.

People & Places

It’s always a pleasure to visit with our hard-working county chairs and SREC members. I’m pictured here with Susan Wright (SD-10) and Steve Atwell (SD-9),  Cat Parks (Hamilton) and Marian Knowlton (Atascosa), and David Luther (Waller).

Our Republican elected officials are the ones on which we count to keep winning policies in place for all Texans. This week provided the opportunity to speak personally with many of those individuals, including State Senator Kelly Hancock, Congressman Pete Sessions, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Vice President Pence, and — last but certainly not least — President Trump. Special thanks goes to Congressman Sessions for graciously hosting my family and me to watch the State of the Union address in D.C. inside of the United States Capitol building. What an experience!

I am so grateful for TFRW President Karen Newton including me in the TFRW board events last weekend. It was a pleasure to speak to them and have a conversation about how we can proactively work together in our shared mission. You can see the new board members on our website here. While in D.C. I was pleased to visit with NFRW President Jody Rushton. On my way back from D.C. I addressed the crowd at beautiful Tarrant County Lincoln Day Dinner.

Report from the Field

During President Trump’s first State of the Union address, the political field team hosted 7 watch parties across Texas. Our Regional Field Directors engaged over 200 future volunteers in a social setting that also generated great social media content. To see photos and clips of real Texans thanking the President for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, search #TeamTX on Twitter.

In February we will host at least 8 training opportunities for volunteers, campaigns, and aspiring political operatives. All Republicans who want to be effective in 2018 are invited to participate – keep an eye on the TXGOP calendar for details! This is especially important as national Democrats continue to target Texas. In recent weeks Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren were both in Texas rallying the far left. Let’s work together to Keep Texas Red!

Party News

SREC First Quarterly Meeting

Our State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) meets quarterly to conduct business. Our first quarter meeting was Jan. 26-27. Here are the highlights, along with links to YouTube so you can hear the actual reports:

  • Two county chair appointments were confirmed: Alan Haley (Loving County) and Cody Mateo Marquez (Hudspeth County)
  • The Election Integrity Committee membership was ratified: Marian Stanko (Chair – SD-26), Steve Atwell (SD-9), Susan Wright (SD-10), Edee Sinclair (SD-18), Morgan Graham (SD-27), Vice Chairman Amy Clark, and Jennifer Hall (former Tarrant County chair)
  • SREC Bylaws were amended: (1) electronic voting at SREC meetings, (2) committee meetings by conference calls (5-day notice required to SREC members and on our website), (3) update on auxiliaries and coalitions definitions including amendments requested by TFRW to facilitate their participation, and (4) cleanups regarding resolutions. The Rules Committee will be looking at additional Bylaws clean-ups and suggestions for Rules amendments in the next few months. (CLICK HERE for the Rules committee report)
  • Three resolutions were adopted: reporting on legislative priorities from the 85th Legislaturecensuring Speaker Straus, and acknowledging parental freedom and homeschool liberty. (CLICK HERE)
  • The Candidate Resource Committee reported on generous donations from elected officials to support Republican Candidates and ways to promote CRC (CLICK HERE)
  • Party Organization Committee reported that final edits and formatting are being made on the 3 manuals (Candidate, County Chair, and Precinct Chair). They also presented a one-pager to help recruit precinct chairs (CLICK HERE for report, CLICK HERE to view the one-pager.)
  • The Convention Arrangements Committee presented a booth policy, which the body amended and approved. (CLICK HERE)
  • Our Vice-Chairman Amy Clark presented a unifying report including plans for an RPTServes week of service on the week of April 16 including Harvey rebuilding, veteran cemetery cleanup, and pro-life collections. She also announced that she will not be seeking re-election for Vice Chairman, but will be continuing work on projects such as Right2Speak and RPTServes.   (CLICK HERE)

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate Amy’s heart for service and for the Party and what a blessing it is to serve with her in Party leadership. I know that she will continue to make historical leaps forward for the Party in her remaining months as Vice-Chairman and that her passion and dedication will bless Texas in each capacity she chooses to serve moving forward.

Many thanks to our meeting sponsors: Trey Blocker – Candidate for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture; Sid Miller – Texas Commissioner of Agriculture; and Bruce Jacobson, Jr. – Candidate for United States Senator. View their speeches here!

RNC Report

The Republican National Committee (RNC) Winter Meeting was held last week in Washington, D.C. Each state is represented on the RNC by the State Chair, National Committeeman, and National Committeewoman. Robin Armstrong, Toni Anne Dashiell, and I are your Texas representatives. We were joined in D.C. by SREC member Mike McCloskey (SD-5), staff member Rachel Malone, and quite a few guests from Texas.

Some highlights:

  • I’d like to congratulate Robin on being unanimously elected as Vice-Chairman of the Southern Region!
  • It was a pleasure to sit in on the Presidential Nominating Process committee which includes Toni Anne as they begin to make important decisions.
  • The body passed 5 resolutions, including: supporting several of President Trump’s decisions, supporting the timely passage of budgets and forfeiture of Congressional pay if they fail to do so, and honoring a long-time RNC member who recently passed away.
  • President Trump hosted all of us for dinner at the Trump Hotel and then opened the mic for an off-the-record Q&A session.

Pictured: dinner with Robin Armstrong and Steve Munisteri; meetings at the White House with Operations Director Rachel Malone and Jessica Colon; President Trump addressing the RNC at the Trump Hotel

In Case You Missed It . . .

News:

Republican Primary Election Ballot Initiatives:

Posts:

Coming Up Next

March 6, 2018 
Republican Primary – Election Day

March 6, 2018
Precinct Conventions

March 24, 2018
Senate District Conventions

April 6, 2018
SREC Meeting – Second Quarter

Thank you for keeping up to date with the Republican Party of Texas!

Sincerely,

James Dickey