Texas Republican Party Officials: An Overview

In conjunction with this week's 2008 Republican Party Convention, I'm doing some overviews of how the GOP works in Texas.

At every level, from neighborhoods to the entire nation, Republicans elect individuals to represent their areas in the time between the elections which are held every two years. Those representatives then serve as part of a body headed by an elected chairman, in much the same way a company's board works with its CEO. The body represents Republican voters in various capacities, often including public relations, fundraising, lobbying of officials, and in some cases even filling Republican ballot vacancies left by death or withdrawal. While their functions differ, the bodies on various levels are very similar. Here is an overview, from the lowest level to the highest:

• Republican voters, in their biennial primaries, elect Precinct Chairmen from each neighborhood and a County Chairman for the entire county. The Precinct Chairs form a countywide Executive Committee headed by the County Chairman and together represent the Republicans of their County.
• Republican voters, in Senatorial District caucuses held at the biennial State Convention, elect a Committeeman and a Committeewoman to represent them on the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC).
• Republican voters, at the State Convention, elect a State Chairman to chair the SREC (and also run the state party, which has a staff and headquarters).
  
• Republican voters, at the State Convention, also elect a National Committeeman and Committeewoman to represent the state (along with the State Chairman) on the Republican National Committee (RNC)
• RNC members elect a Chairman to chair the RNC and lead the national party.

As you can see, the State Convention is a very important part of the process; many party officials are chosen there that will remain in office for at least two years (until the next State Convention), and in some cases for four-year terms. Next up: an overview of the GOP Convention process.