By Gromer Jeffers Jr.
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
Chitose Suzuki / ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Texas Republican Party wants to close its primaries to all but registered members, a move that would consolidate power among the state’s most conservative activists.
Leaders inside the Texas GOP had urged lawmakers to change Texas law to allow Republicans to close their primary elections, but legislation to restrict candidates from primaries unless they are declared Republicans was a non-starter during this year’s legislative session.
Now, a Republican on behalf of the state GOP is suing Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson in the Amarillo division of U.S. District Court to make it happen. The Secretary of State can’t close primaries without authorization from the Legislature.
“What we want to do is to empower every Republican to choose the nominee that the party puts on the November ballot, but we do not want any Democrats to be able to make that choice. Why would we?” said Texas Republican Party Chairman Abraham George during a joint interview with The Dallas Morning News and KXAS-TV (NBC5).
George added, “we’re not stopping anyone from registering as a Republican” and the nomination process isn’t about giving everyone in the state a vote.
“The nomination process is about choosing the strongest conservative who will stand for the Republican principles and the party’s priorities,” he said.
Chitose Suzuki / ASSOCIATED PRESS
The move to close primaries is the latest push by Republican insiders to have more control over the electoral process.
A closed primary, even as it seeks to guard against participation by independents and Democrats, would potentially weed out casual or infrequent voters who may have dissenting views about elements of conservative politics.
That’s just fine for most staunch conservatives who say they are frustrated that some moderates and non-Republicans are in the way of them getting more of their agenda approved.
In closed primaries, candidates on the wrong side of the state’s most conservative activists would be at a disadvantage. That’s not much different than the dynamic under the current system, which has poor voter participation.
Texas primaries mimic general elections because votes are collected and counted by the Secretary of State and county election officials. Though filing fees help offset the cost, most of the expenditures for primary elections are picked up by taxpayers. A closed nominating process could result in Republicans staging and paying for their primaries.
Is changing the GOP primary system necessary?
For the most part, George and party officials are already getting what they want.
Texas Republican primaries are strongly influenced by conservative activists who over the years have increased their clout in GOP politics.
The rise of Republican activists manifested itself in 2024, when state convention delegates in San Antonio called not only for closed primaries, but changed the rules to allow elected officials who were censured by state or local parties to be banned from primary ballots.
George said the state party has developed fresh policies to guide the potential removal of office via censure, and its state executive committee would begin considering in October whether censured candidates should be banned from ballots.
If an elected official is blocked from the nominating process, the issue would certainly be settled in court. That’s where the topic of closing primaries will also be determined.
The changing of GOP rules reflects the determination of activists, who two decades ago were routinely ignored by Republican elected leaders. Many of those office holders didn’t bother to read the party’s platform.
Now elected leaders who dismiss the platform or skirt the legislative agenda are targeted by activists who are more influential than ever.
George acknowledged recent success. By his count the recent legislative session included at least 43 priority bills approved by lawmakers.
But Republican precinct leaders aren’t satisfied with that success. They claim Democrats, independents or any non-Republicans still have the opportunity to cross over and vote in GOP primaries. They argue that could be disruptive, especially in close elections.
The lawsuit points to 2024 races in which non-Republicans could have affected the result, including former House Speaker Dade Phelan’s narrow victory over former Orange County GOP Party Chairman Davey Covey. Phelan, from Beaumont, who is at odds with conservative activists, did not seek reelection this year as speaker and recently announced he would not seek reelection to the Legislature in 2026.
Though Texas primaries are open, a voter cannot participate in both the Democratic and Republican contests in the same primary season. It’s one reason primary elections are low-turnout events dominated by tried-and-true voters.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
In 2024, registered voter turnout in the GOP presidential primary was nearly 13%, compared to 61% in the general election. The 2022 midterm election had even more of a paltry turnout, with only 11.3% in the primary for governor won by incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, and nearly 48% in the general election.
The problem the lawsuit faces is that Democrats and Republicans are intertwined with state and federal government operations.
And though political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, most Americans now identify with one of the two major political parties.
The primary nominating process is different than in the first 192 years of our democracy, when power brokers gathered in the stereotypical smoke-filled rooms to pick nominees.
In 2024, registered voter turnout in the GOP presidential primary was nearly 13%, compared to 61% in the general election. The 2022 midterm election had even more of a paltry turnout, with only 11.3% in the primary for governor won by incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, and nearly 48% in the general election.
The problem the lawsuit faces is that Democrats and Republicans are intertwined with state and federal government operations.
And though political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, most Americans now identify with one of the two major political parties.
The primary nominating process is different than in the first 192 years of our democracy, when power brokers gathered in the stereotypical smoke-filled rooms to pick nominees.
In 2021, lawmakers approved GOP-driven congressional maps supported by Democrats and Republicans. It wasn’t until President Donald Trump and the Justice Department made overtures this year that Abbott pushed lawmakers to redraw the boundaries a second time since the last Census.
Elected leaders are comfortable with the current system, so it’s unlikely the Legislature will close GOP primaries anytime soon.
Closing primaries, however, could empower and embolden independent-minded voters.
Before the era of strict party identification and the gerrymandering of districts, the fate of candidates rested largely with general election voters, who picked Republicans and Democrats when so moved. There are actually voters who supported former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, perhaps wanting to shake up the status quo.
In campaigns of yesteryear, the general election voter would make a candidate pay a political price for scandals or for being on the wrong side of kitchen table issues. These days, avoiding scandal is not as important as passing a party litmus test.
Most historians believe the founding fathers didn’t envision political parties operating as they do today, and relied on the bulk of the electorate being arbiters who voted based on their pocketbook and values.
If activists manage to close primaries, perhaps it will lead to a more discerning general electorate.
The Howard University graduate and Chicago native has covered four presidential campaigns and written extensively about local, state and national politics. Before The News, he was a reporter at The Kansas City Star and The Chicago Defender. You can catch Gromer every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5’s Lone Star Politics.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
