The Texas GOP Convention kicks off in Houston on Thursday and runs through Sunday.
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HOUSTON – Republican delegates and supporters from across Texas have arrived in Houston for the 2026 Texas GOP Convention.
With the primaries and runoffs over, state Republicans can now look towards the November midterm election and unifying to defeat the Democrats.
Texas GOP Chair Abraham George opened the event Thursday touting Republican success in flipping South Texas counties to President Donald Trump in 2024.
“When you elected me, you asked me and I made a promise that I would put together the most robust outreach program to flip South Texas,” George said. “And I would do everything I can to elect President Donald J. Trump. I promised you that I would do everything I can to get Republican priorities passed. Well. I’m standing here today reporting to you that we elected President Donald Trump with a 14-point victory. And we flipped 12 Democrat counties to Republican in 2024.”
George went on to celebrate Republicans passing 43 legislative priorities since the 2024 convention and a bold redistricting plan that the GOP believes will net them five congressional seats in November.
Texas Republicans look to unite against Democrats in November
One negative highlighted by George during his opening speech was the party’s inability to close their primaries to non-Republican voters.
“This has been our fight for many decades, where Democrats are choosing our nominees,” George said. “This must end.”
The fight for a closed primary highlighted a rift within the Republican Party. George said the Republican-led state legislature failed the party by not changing state laws to allow for closed primaries. The party initially adopted rules calling for closed primaries in 2024.
He also pointed blame at Secretary of State Jane Nelson for not closing primaries. The party filed a lawsuit against Nelson last year to restrict primaries to only voters registered with the party.
“The Secretary of State Jane Nelson decided to fight the Republican Party of Texas, allocating $1.25 million of our tax dollars to fight the Republican Party of Texas,” George said. “I’m standing here to tell you something. Jane Nelson will not be our Secretary of State for long. She’s already tendered her resignation.”
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The comments were met with cheers from convention goers.
Nelson announced she was stepping down from the position on June 2. Her last day in the role she’s held since 2023 is July 17. While she gave no reason for her resignation, she said she was “proud of what we have been able to accomplish as an agency in under four years.”
The split over closed primaries isn’t the only thing state Republicans will need to look past to unite. The party is coming off a long and expensive U.S. Senate primary and runoff pitting Sen. John Cornyn against Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton won the nomination last month in a runoff election.
For George, however, he said the party always has internal disagreements but that the party is united in its goals for November.
“The question is not do we disagree. The question is, do we have the conviction to rise above all that,” George said. “Put everything aside so we can fight for 30 million Texans to continue to lead the conservative movement in America.”
In some ways, Texas Republicans are already showing signs of coming together in November.
After the May runoff, Gov. Greg Abbott congratulated Bo French on winning the Republican nomination for railroad commissioner. Abbott had previously endorsed French’s opponent, incumbent Jim Wright.
“Republicans are UNITED and ready to win in November to keep Texas, TEXAS,” Abbott said.
The party could need such unity in the coming months, as an energized Democratic Party believes it has the possibility of winning its first statewide race since 1994 on the back of Senate nominee James Talarico.
Recent polling shows nearly one-third of Republican voters who voted for Cornyn in the runoff were willing to flip their votes to Talarico. The poll, conducted just after the runoff, showed a three-point lead for the Democrat.
The GOP convention runs through Sunday and many of the state’s top Republicans are expected to be in attendance, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick who is hosting an “ice cream social” Thursday night and House Speaker Dustin Burrows who is slated to speak Friday morning.
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