Chairman Munisteri to Resign Effective March 7th
Austin, TX - Republican Party of Texas State Chairman Steve Munisteri informed the State Republican Executive Committee today that he will resign as State Chairman effective Saturday, March 7th at 1:00 PM.
At the last meeting of the SREC, the Chairman proposed a bylaw amendment which allowed for there to be a seamless transition from the current Chair to a new Chairman without the necessity of the Vice Chairman taking over temporarily. The amendment allows an outgoing Chairman to set a future day for resignation on which date the election for a new Chairman could be held. This bylaw requires the outgoing Chairman to give at least 30 days written and irrevocable notice of a date and time certain.
As a result of this new bylaw, Chairman Munisteri will chair the business portion of the first quarterly meeting of the SREC, scheduled for March 7th in Austin. Other than the election of a new Chair, all business is expected to be concluded by 1:00 PM. At that time, an election for a new State Chairman will be held. Vice Chairwoman Amy Clark will preside over the election which will be conducted under Roberts Rules of Order. There will be as many rounds of voting as necessary until a candidate receives over 50% of the votes of the SREC. Candidates are not eliminated after each round unless they withdraw. There are 64 voting members of the SREC, including the Chairman and Vice Chairwoman. Once the Chairman steps down there will be 63, meaning 32 will constitute a majority.
There will be a candidate forum for SREC members sponsored by the RPT the night before the vote. This forum will be held in Austin at a site to be determined. There are currently four announced candidates running for Chairman. They include current RPT Treasurer Tom Mechler, current National Committeeman Dr. Robin Armstrong, current Dallas County GOP Chair Wade Emmert, and former Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill.
Chairman Munisteri offered the following statement regarding his decision:
“Today I informed the SREC that I will be stepping down on March 7th. I have done so, in part, in order to accept the position of Senior Advisor to Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Senator Paul shares my vision of promoting the conservative values of individual freedom, limited government, a strong national defense, and defense of the Constitution in each and every community in our country.
My top priority as Chairman these past five years has been to engage every Texas community. During my tenure, we established the position of African American Engagement, Asian American Engagement, and Hispanic Engagement. We undertook a robust grassroots engagement program throughout the state which included a large number of field staff and Victory offices, with some being located in nontraditional Republican areas.
Senator Paul also shares my belief that the Republican Party cannot expect to win a national race unless we attract younger voters and take our message aggressively to the Hispanic, African American, and Asian American communities. He shares my vision of doing so by actively engaging community leaders, traveling to nontraditional Republican communities, and making it clear that everyone that shares our beliefs are welcome in our party. Most importantly, he believes we can be effective in doing so without compromising our principles. I have known Senator Paul for well over 30 years and have found him to be one of the most intelligent, well-read, well-informed, and rational thinkers that I have ever encountered. I am honored to assist him in whatever his future endeavors may be.
It has been my honor to serve as RPT Chairman since June 2010 and oversee our party’s efforts during the last three election cycles. I am proud that by working together, we have had a net increase of 1,182 Republican officeholders during my time in office, representing an increase from 45% of all state officeholders to 67%. We have also set the all-time record for most number of elected Republican Texas State Representatives and Republican Texas Congressmen, as well as tying the record for most number of Republican State Senators.
At the same time, we paid off the party’s debt to $0 for the first time in 18 years and have remained debt free since November 2010 while bringing in over $22 million in revenue. This would not have been possible without the support of literally tens of thousands of grassroots activists and donors, for which I will be forever grateful. It has been the honor of my life to represent tens of millions of Texas Republicans and I wish our new Chairman well, whoever that may be, and plan to offer my support in whichever way I can help.”
