Republicans who vote against party leaders’ preferred candidate could be barred from running in primaries. Lawsuits could follow.
Delegates wait to hand in their ballots after voting on platform priorities on the last day of the Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on Saturday, May 25, 2024., state GOP officials are hoping to wield new powers that would ensure their preferred candidate wins — and give them unprecedented control over who can run in Republican primaries.
Those fights could soon spill into the courtroom — and with profound consequences for Texas’ political system. Political experts expect lawsuits if the Texas GOP follows through with its censures, resulting in a high-stakes legal drama that could upend the relationship between political parties, candidates and voters.
While the resolution does not explicitly call for censures, it repudiates numerous “subversive tactics” — including voting for a “Speaker who was not selected by the caucus” — that would violate the party’s platform and legislative priorities, and thus be “addressed by voters and by the Republican Party of Texas.” Since then, at least one local party, the Fort Bend County GOP, has passed a resolution vowing to censure its representatives on similar grounds.
Supporters of the Rule 44 changes say they are necessary to deter lawmakers from defying the party’s base and platform. Critics, however, argue that they increase purity tests and give a small group of party members the power to dictate who can run for office by punishing even slight deviations from the party’s legislative priorities or platform.everything from enhanced hurricane warning systems to a referendum on Texas secession and for the U.S.
Political experts say Rule 44 is evidence of increased polarization that is no longer confined to Democrats vs. Republicans.
Texas Politics Texas Policy Texas Government Politics Texas House Of Representatives Republican Party Of Texas Speaker Of The Texas House Dustin Burrows David Cook 89Th Legislative Session
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