VIDEO: Republican Party of Texas Chair Debate
Only two candidates showed up.
Editorial by Tex Rex:
As someone who’s watched the inner-politics of the Texas GOP for a while, I must say this is (so far) among the most boring contests for leading the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) I’ve had to monitor. Over the course of six years, we went from 2020’s attention-grabbing debates between James Dickey and LTC Allen West, to melancholic back-and-forths at forums a majority of candidates don’t even attend.
This was one such event.
Days ago, the Young Republicans of Houston hosted an RPT Chair candidate debate. The only candidates appearing where incumbent Abraham George, and former congressional candidate Sandra Whitten, though one young man did some speaking on behalf of George’s top challenger D’rinda Randall. This video is also found on Sandra Whitten’s Facebook page.
I dissected this forum that went on for more than an hour. Before we begin, please forgive me if I misunderstand something. George’s heavy accent + potato quality audio = yours truly having to rewind more than someone should.
Because this article shouldn’t be the length of a CVS receipt, I’m focusing on the key moments and takeaways from the debate.
Starting with introductions, a man representing Randall emphasized the Texas GOP’s need for a strong grassroots, and her time spent training local leaders. He also claims Randall will give young folks a voice in the party, ensuring Texas stays red for the next generation.
Sandra Whitten of Laredo started off with her record in South Texas, saying she did much of the work the Texas GOP refused to do. She spoke on the need for Republicans to show up in communities.
Abraham George introduced himself by talking about how he was born in India and that his parents immigrated to Texas and how long it took, along with his time in the Tea Party and the Collin County GOP. He praises his record, pointing out that Trump won in 2024 by greater margins than previously.
10:50 - When asked about qualifications, George took credit for flipping 12 counties, getting Trump elected, and apparently he’s the reason Speaker Burrows is a conservative despite being “elected by majority Democrats.” He bragged about running $30,000 worth of ads in his district about Burrows working with Dems, resulting in the speaker needing to prove his conservatism, and 43 priority bills passing.
12:12- Whitten spoke about showing up in blue areas of South Texas, even buying Trump signs with personal funds “to ensure Donald Trump got across the finish line.” She claimed the Texas GOP was AWOL, despite taking credit for flipping South Texas. Apparently, all the party did was knock on 100,000 doors out of 6 million. She described the current Texas GOP’s actions as “peeing in the ocean, and pretending you’re filling it up.” Overall, Whitten suggested her and other south Texans did all the work.
13:47 - When asked about the RPT Chair’s role, Whitten said the chair must “roll up our sleeves” and go to places no one wants to go. She claimed the state GOP ignores south and west Texas, and spoke on needing to recruit candidates. Bringing up the debate on closed primaries, she says the party wants to vet voters, but won’t vet candidates, and mentioned that if we close primaries, many Dems will just register as Rs, creating similar results. Whitten also spoke about fixing party division so we can bring in voters, and good candidates.
15:19 - George complained that most people at Walmart don’t know about the chairman’s duties. He stated that his roles are getting conservative legislation/priorities passed, and this is done by getting Republicans elected. He mentions he’s 46 years old, and he’s not planing on being in politics for the coming years.
19:51 - When asked about engaging the grassroots with the Texas GOP, Whitten talks about looking for delegates and candidates, and that we need to show them we are a party of action. She says the chairman needs to be supportive of them and county chairmen.
21:05 - George implies he’s the grassroots candidate, and the party is structured to not be top down. The county chairs don’t report to the state chair. Precinct Chairs report to county chair. Priorities put together by delegates, not SREC or leadership. Bring in grassroots happens in 2 ways: to be volunteers, and bring them to be the next leaders, via “GOP University.”
22:28 - After being asked about the fundraising (which many people are asking about lately), George claims the RPT raised $50.5 million, and has enough money to finish their convention. He also revealed his strategy involves getting all the candidates together in one place for fundraising.
23:56 - Whitten’s plan is about “showing we’re driven,” not “more of the same and expecting the same result.” She asked how much fundraising numbers “report the actual party,” and states many are asking how to both raise money for the rest of the convention, and at the same time campaign cash for November. Whitten also bemoans rural parties being fiscally neglected.
25:20 - Whitten revealed her approach for winning the youth: talking about things important to them, making them invested, and overall making them feel welcomed. According to her, they see politics as something bigger than them, and want to change future.
26:37 - George claimed younger voters are more conservative, and convention registration is just $25 for those 25 and under, and their hotel is free He also claimed Charlie Kirk was a close friend of his.
30:45 - When asked how she’ll recruit and support better candidates Whitten brought up that when candidates fill out forms with the party, there’s a packet of info never seen, including questionnaires (like why they’re running). She demands this be public info, so we don’t have “another event” where an Antifa activist can run for Lieutenant Gov.
32:02 - George advocates reaching out to county chairs to find better candidates. He even claimed the Harris County GOP didn’t have a candidate for a commissioner seat Trump won back in 2024, and this was a wake-up call for recruiting local candidates.
33:23 - George states that as soon as he’s re-elected, he’ll put a committee together for Paxton, Abbott, and all our candidates. He spoke with the RNC Chair, who suspects Texas will have $800 million campaign for 2026. According to polls, things will be worse for Republicans than 2018. (Author’s Note: This is when Beto almost beat Cruz, and the GOP has unprecedented losses in the legislature and local governments.)
34:30 - Whitten attacked George for mentioning Paxton’s name a lot, and only now mentioning Abbott once. She mentioned how vital a GOP hold on the governorship is, and how we must knock on doors AND build relationships.
35:46 - The moderator asked how one should resolve issues with their chair or SREC, to which Whitten says they should go to one another first, then go higher, than go to SREC, ensuring they know what’s going on. She claims the SREC has had hands tied for years when dealing with situations, and need empowering to solve these (rather than getting excluded from committees) instead of chair or vice chair.
36:51 - When asked the same question, George reminded people he’s not here to make friends, saying these are handled by going to the rules and platform committee, principles, and priorities. If we have nothing, we fall back on Roberts rules. We’re a fighting machine, and must act like it.
38:32 - George described his approach for engaging with the Texas Legislature, bragging about running ads against the speaker and still being able to pass priorities. He claimed to sit down and confront legislators, showing them platform and priorities. If they can’t keep it, he says don’t use the GOP name. Of course, he recommends showing up to the Texas Capitol.
39:45 - Whitten talked about how she’s actively at the Texas Capitol all the time or calling officials, having relationships on both side of the aisle. She claimed some Dems filed better, more conservative legislation than some Republicans, and that the GOP needs to make sure we have water, data centers don’t take over, and oil and gas jobs aren’t destroyed.
41:04 - Asked about how we reconcile GOP priorities with those in power, Whitten says “Abraham wants to fight everybody; that’s not how we win.” Instead, we need military-style camaraderie, getting conversations going with Republicans who aren’t friends of the party (she named Rep. Jared Patterson.)
42:21 - George talked about having conversations with reps and their staff, mentioning that Legislators did work because “you” showed up.
44:14 - The inquiries are more directed at George, particularly about filing deadline and SREC no confidence letter. George dismissed both questions, defending his filing with “last I checked, 11-10=1” and that everyone filed on June 1st. He dismissed the no confidence letter as being from D’rinda Randall fans who supposedly had no problem with him till recently.
Current Revolt covered both of these events in detail:
46:52 - When an audience member asked both candidates about party finances and how we win in November, George says he won’t do anything different than 2024, complimenting when the party was united, and vowing to raise money. Whitten was more aggressive, pointing out there’s no Biden to unite against, but we must united behind Gov. Abbott, claiming he kept Texas safe, and that he built more wall than Trump passed.
49:22 - Another audience member asked what how each candidate would build a bridge between state and local parties, at which Whitten took a jab at George’s copious mailers, and that many don’t hear from the Texas GOP unless it’s to fundraise. George then went on about the county not having to report to the state party, and that the state GOP supplies them with data, and gives training via “GOP University” as well as partnering with Rick Green’s Patriot Academy. He talked about getting resources for county parties to work, claiming “SREC’s aren’t blockwalking” at which Whitten quipped “That’s not true.”
1:00:08 - When an attendee asked Whitten what her opponent has done well, she praised George for bringing diversity into the party. She stated the Texas GOP wasn’t “super diverse”, and reflected on anti-White discrimination she faced by Hispanic groups. Whitten rightfully points out that running campaigns on skin and gender is disgusting, then claimed that because Abe is chair, we’ve had diversity in party.
1:03:42 - For closings, the young guy speaking on D’rinda’s behalf asked if we were better off in our party now than we were 4 years ago, and again lauded the youth council she wants to create. Whitten closed she was “sick and tired of being sick and tired", mentioning those blockwalking on their own time, critiquing infighting, and talking about issues. George mainly focused on fighting for the coming election years, and asking what the next two years will look like. He went on, claiming that the 90th legislative session will be about fighting Islamization, ending property tax, and holding officials who let criminals off accountable. At 1:09:17, he claims all statewide elected officials “are probably asking you to support me.”
Overall, this race has been quite contentious between current Chair Abraham George, Vice Chair D’rinda Randall, former candidate Sandra Whitten, Dr. Brooks McKenzie, and who knows who else at this point. George has been a controversial leader since he first announced in 2024, and hasn’t gotten any less so.
Despite everyone’s present boredom, the low energy will (hopefully) cease at the Texas GOP’s coming convention in Houston this week. We look forward to all the clownery and chaos to ensue; see you there!
Delegates who’re irritated at the incessant mailers from Chairman George should maybe be a little worried. If the incumbent is desperate enough, you might be more akin to those from his old state house campaign:
Thanks for this reporting. I would like to use this comment to showcase one of the "who knows who else" candidates, Amy Teal. I'm supporting her for both Chair and Vice Chair (she is running for both) because she is anti-war and is highly involved in her local community. I can tell because she shares detailed information online to a degree that is rare for small town councilmen. I get more neocon vibes from her husband, who is running for Chair, and although I am for keeping our primaries open (because Trump won 16/22 open contests but only 12/23 closed contests by May 3, 2016), I will not vote for Whitten since she stated on her congressional campaign website that "we want legal migration, we are a country of immigrants".