Texas GOP chair won’t run for reelection

“I will be forever grateful for the honor of serving the millions of Texas Republicans working to preserve a society that values faith, family and liberty.”

Matt Rinaldi, Texas GOP chair

Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi has announced he won’t run for reelection.

Rinaldi has served as chair for nearly three years, overseeing party operations during a time when Texas has lurched further to the right. Rinaldi has been a vocal proponent of that effort, aligning the party closely with farright activists and disparaging Republicans he saw as too liberal — including embattled Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan.

But those actions also have angered some Texas Republicans, who say Rinaldi has stoked party divisions and refused to cut ties with GOP activists affiliated with white supremacists.

Rinaldi said it is time to step down and “focus on my obligations as a husband to my wife, Corley, and as a father to my sixyear-old son, Rush.”

“I ran for the state chairman on a platform of growing the party, increasing its influence, and making it one that effectively amplifies the voice of grassroots Republicans,” Rinaldi said in a release. “I am happy to report we were successful on all accounts.”

Shortly after making his announcement Friday, Rinaldi and his allies — including Attorney General Ken Paxton — rolled out endorsements for Abraham George, the chairman of the Collin County GOP. Texas GOP Vice Chair Dana Myers also is running to lead the party, which will select its new leader at its May convention in San Antonio.

Rinaldi said he was proud to elect more Republicans down ballot during his tenure, and he said the party’s advocacy this year contributed to the “political earthquake” in the March primary that sent several incumbent House members packing or to runoffs.

“I will be forever grateful for the honor of serving the millions of Texas Republicans working to preserve a society that values faith, family and liberty,” he said.

The Texas GOP’s executive committee first elected Rinaldi, a former state representative, to serve as chair in 2021, replacing Allen West, who stepped down to run for governor. GOP delegates reelected him during the party’s convention the next year.

Despite overall successful years for the Texas GOP, Rinaldi’s tenure was marked by intraparty fighting and public controversy — and some Republicans say the state party had nothing to do with the party’s victories in the Capitol or at the ballot box.

Rinaldi’s leadership has been under additional scrutiny in recent months after prominent GOP activist Jonathan Stickland, Rinaldi’s longtime friend and former colleague, met for more than six hours with white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Rinaldi was in the same building as Stickland when the meeting happened, but he later condemned Fuentes and said he didn’t know Fuentes was there.

Still, the incident sent shockwaves through the Texas Republican Party and brought renewed attention to Rinaldi’s relationship with Stickland, who also used to head the deep-pocketed Defend Texas Liberty PAC. Rinaldi declined to denounce

Stickland or distance the party from the PAC, which has since rebranded as “Texans United for a Conservative Majority.”

For many Texas Republicans, the incident underscored an ongoing shift in the state party, which was once primarily focused on fundraising and helping support local Republican clubs and candidates.

Over the past three years, and especially since Rinaldi took over in 2021, the organization has tried instead to assert itself as a driving force behind rightwing policy positions, eager to challenge elected Republicans who they believe are not conservative enough. Rinaldi was particularly vocal after the Texas House overwhelmingly voted in May to impeach Paxton on corruption charges.

Rinaldi