The RPT extends a big thank you to all those elected officials, volunteers, Republican activists, party leaders, and donors who contributed mightily to our landslide victory on Election Day.

At the top of the list is Railroad Commissioner, Christi Craddick, who agreed to take on the burdensome, but important, role of Victory Chairman. The primary responsibility of the Chairman is to raise money for the Victory efforts, as well as help rally the troops. On both fronts, Commissioner Craddick did an outstanding job. She made numerous personal phone calls to donors asking for money, as well as hosting fundraisers in Houston, Midland, San Antonio, and Austin. She also tirelessly traveled the state speaking to Republican groups and encouraging get-out-the-vote efforts.

State Chairman, Steve Munisteri, applauded Commissioner Craddick stating, “I could not have asked for a better partner to help oversee the Party’s Victory efforts. From the start it was clear that she and I shared a common vision of establishing a presence through field offices across the state, engaging non-traditional Republican communities, and maintaining Victory operations year round.

We had a 100% agreement on the Victory plan, which included a robust early-vote-by-mail program, new resident mover program, field operations, and a robust get-out-the-vote effort. She was successful in raising us the additional funding we needed to accomplish these goals, while also leaving a substantial balance in the Victory account so that we can continue the Victory operations in order to prepare for the 2016 election cycle. On behalf of the RPT, I want to personally thank her and congratulate her on a job well done.”

The RPT also received huge assistance from Governor-elect, Greg Abbott, who made a personal commitment to Chairman Munisteri to raise $1 million for the party if he agreed to serve through the elections. Not only did the Governor-elect meet this commitment but exceeded it and more. More importantly, his staff, headed by Political Consultant Dave Carney, Campaign Manager Wayne Hamilton, and Deputy Campaign Manager Sarah Floerke, worked exceptionally well with our staff and it was a true cooperative effort that resulted in a landslide Victory.

Chairman Munisteri thanked the Governor-elect, saying “The true test of a public servant is if they work as hard for others as hard as they do for themselves, along with whether or not they keep their word. On both fronts, Governor-elect Abbott excelled. It was clear he was concerned about the well-being of the entire Republican ticket and continued to raise money for the RPT long after he had met his commitment. The work he did on behalf of the RPT and the success of his campaign will lay the foundation for the future success of the Texas GOP. I applaud him and thank him for his efforts.”

The RPT also received a huge boost form Senator John Cornyn who almost a year ago started raising money for the Victory efforts, as well as personally contributing to the Party. He did this prior to knowing his opponent was not going to make good on his pledge to spend tens of millions of dollars against him. Despite having his own race to run, and having to raise his own money, Senator Cornyn helped ensure the Victory coffers remained full, which in turn helped the whole ticket.

Chairman Munisteri applauded his efforts, stating “Senator Cornyn has lent invaluable assistance to the RPT during my entire 4-year tenure as State Chairman. Every time I have asked him to help, he has not hesitated to do so. He constantly checks in on the party to make sure it is doing well, and he should be given credit for contributing to the success of the entire ticket.”

The RPT also wishes to thank our candidates and elected officials that helped us raise money for Victory by attending Victory events. These include: Lt. Governor-elect Dan Patrick, Comptroller-elect Glenn Hegar, Attorney General-elect Ken Paxton, Land Commissioner-elect George P. Bush, Agriculture Commissioner-elect Sid Miller, Railroad Commissioner-elect Ryan Sitton,Texas Speaker Joe Straus and Senator Ted Cruz.

None of our success would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of grassroots activists, and Chairman Munisteri noted, “The Dems relied, in large part, on using paid workers and the TDP State Chair even bragged that he had over 300 paid people out in the field during the last month of the campaign, compared to 24 paid RPT staffers. What they didn’t know was that we had a grassroots volunteer army of thousands and thousands of Republican activists whose enthusiasm and hard work fueled the sweep of statewide offices. I thank each and every one of them and to all of them I say job well done, we couldn’t have done it without you.”

The Republican Party of Texas would also like to thank all of our generous donors who contributed to the party and Victory, allowing us to provide financial assistance to candidates, fund our GOTV efforts, and operate field offices across the state. We are excited to get back to work and start preparing for more big wins in 2016.