Dear Texas Republicans,

Have you voted yet? Early voting ends this Friday – click here to find your early voting location. It’s important to vote in the Republican Primary so you can help select our nominees for November and register your opinion on important issues.

Voting in the primary also qualifies you as a delegate for your precinct convention, which will occur between March 6-24. I hope that each one of you will attend your convention because I need your input. Find more information here.

 

People & Places

The Alamo City Republican Women are a strong force in San Antonio and I’m happy to be able to count on their support to make our convention a success. It was a pleasure to speak to them recently.

As you probably heard, Vice President Mike Pence visited Texas. I joined him for a luncheon in San Antonio and then for the Dallas GOP Reagan Day Dinner.

Also last week, it was great to share Party updates and meet members at two Republican clubs. Lake Travis Republican Club in the Austin area is my home club, while Arlington Republican Club in the DFW area was a new one for me. As always though, Republicans feel like old friends even when I meet them for the first time.

Report from the Field

Reaching out to all communities is something about which I am very passionate. So I’m thrilled that we have two brand new teams along the border who are comprised of native Spanish speakers. By participating in the Republican Leadership Initiative program, they are gaining the skills and mentorship to reach their communities. I’m confident that these new leaders in Eagle Pass and Maverick County will communicate our shared values with voters in this important region.

Recently, RNC Political Director / RPT State Director Kristy Wilkinson met with African American leaders in Dallas in a roundtable discussion. This is another critical aspect of reaching out to all communities and I’m grateful for the input of many as we refine and implement strategic initiatives.

As Texans continue to celebrate a lowered tax burden resulting in keeping more of their hard-earned income, I’m grateful for our field team’s work to promote that issue. Just on tax reform they conducted 1,182 one-on-one meetings, gathered 3,043 petition signatures in person, led 128 house meetings, made 23,857 door to door contacts, and organized 30 small business house meetings.

This week we have Republican Leadership Initiatives scheduled in Corpus Christi, Victoria, and Del Rio.

Party News

Last week we unveiled the 2018 Convention Website – www.texasgop.org/2018-convention. Please take some time to explore it — you’ll find training videos, delegate packets, scripts, and more for precinct & county/SD conventions. There’s also a comprehensive page about State Convention with our basic schedule, sponsorship packet, and more.

All of our county chairs are in the midst of elections and so far they have been very smooth. I’m proud that there are Republican primaries in 253 counties and I’m thankful for the extra effort our staff has put in even to the point of personally driving down to counties in South Texas to ensure that Republicans had a chance to cast a primary ballot.

Other notable items:

  • The Officials Committee met to review the budget and found that we are holding steady and doing a good job of meeting our monthly fundraising goals. While we are above where free cash on hand was two years ago, we are working hard to improve that even more.
  • The Party presented testimony on religious liberties and election security. Thank you to Chaplain Corey Tabor, Jennifer Hall (Member of the Election Integrity Committee), and Marian Stanko (SREC SD26, Chair of Election Integrity Committee).

In Case You Missed It . . .

Governor Abbott sets May 5 as date for HD 13 special election

Press releases:

Coming Up Next

Mar. 2: Last day of Early Voting – Find your polling location here.
Mar. 6: Republican Primary Election Day (more info)
Mar. 6: Precinct Conventions (more info)

Thank you for staying up to date with the Republican Party of Texas, and I look forward to visiting with you soon.

Sincerely,

James Dickey