Texas Republicans tapped former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) as their new party chair on Monday, voting out current chair James Dickey in an early morning round of voting.
Ultimately, 22 of the state’s 31 Senate district caucuses chose West to lead the party into the 2020 elections during its virtual convention. West’s victory means he will take the reins of the largest state GOP in the country just four months before one of the most challenging election cycles for Texas Republicans in recent history.
West, who represented Florida’s 22nd District in Washington from 2011 until 2013, rose to political prominence at the beginning of the last decade as the conservative Tea Party movement gained steam. He was a frequent critic of former President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein ObamaTikTok may be a political-culture war victim, when the larger issue is data use The Memo: Muted conventions may scramble 2020 race Clyburn echoes calls to rename Pettus bridge MORE and often drew attention for his bombastic rhetoric.
West moved to Texas in 2014 and became the CEO of the now-defunct think tank, the National Center for Policy Analysis.
West’s victory in the race for Texas state GOP chair came in the middle of a particularly volatile election season for Republicans. President Trump
Donald John TrumpKanye West says Harriet Tubman ‘never actually freed the slaves’ at rally Trump-Afghan deal passes key deadline, but peace elusive GOP governors in hardest hit states split over COVID-19 response MORE has largely found himself playing defense in recent months amid criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and Joe Biden
Joe BidenTrump on whether he’ll accept election results in November: ‘I have to see’ Ryan warned Trump was losing key voters in Wisconsin, other states: NYT TikTok may be a political-culture war victim, when the larger issue is data use MORE, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is expected to make a play for Texas.
At the same time, Texas Republicans are facing tough challenges for Sen. John Cornyn
John CornynMemo to Mitch: Repeal the Republican tax increase House to vote on creation of Smithsonian Latino museum Democrats blow past GOP incumbents in Q2 fundraising MORE’s (R-Texas) Senate seat and House districts, including that of retiring Rep. Will Hurd
William Ballard HurdTrump-backed House candidate leads by only 7 votes in key Texas runoff House panel approves amendment barring DACA deportations Overnight Defense: Panel approves 4.6B bill addressing border wall funds, Confederate name changes | Navy ship fire rages on MORE (R-Texas).
Democrats pounced on West’s win on Monday, bringing up his history of controversial remarks. West, who is Black, has made incendiary claims over the years, including that the Black Community “was stronger” and had “better education opportunities” during segregation.
“We’re…
Read More:Tea Party conservative Allen West to guide Texas GOP through 2020 elections
