{"id":340442,"date":"2026-06-17T22:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/340442\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:43:10","slug":"texas-gop-convention-bans-convicted-felons-in-party-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/340442\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas GOP convention bans convicted felons in party leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overlooked at the Texas GOP convention<\/a> this past weekend: Delegates took a formal stance against convicted felons in party leadership.<\/p>\n

The move came as a surprise to some in a party where its most influential leader, President Donald Trump, was convicted of multiple felonies<\/a> for falsifying business documents.<\/p>\n

The GOP\u2019s nominee for U.S. Senate, Ken Paxton<\/a>, was also indicted on felony charges<\/a> in 2015 for securities fraud \u2014 though the charges were later dismissed<\/a> after he completed community service hours and paid restitution.<\/p>\n

Headed into last week\u2019s convention in Houston, some Republicans were still reeling from Paxton\u2019s upset victory<\/a> in the primary runoff against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).<\/p>\n

But the new party rule<\/a>, pushed by Bexar County delegate Justin Nichols<\/a>, was actually aimed at a much lower-profile official.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote the rule with a narrow purpose,\u201d Nichols said. \u201d \u2026 I\u2019m not here to debate the greater question for the national party.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the midst of an ugly campaign for a position on the State Republican Executive Committee, Nichols faced attacks<\/a> from a local precinct chair who has a violent criminal record.<\/p>\n

In response, he used his position on the Rules Committee to push for a ban preventing people with a felony conviction from holding most party leadership roles until 20 years after serving out their sentence \u2014 ultimately causing the precinct chair, Emily Garcia, to lose her position.<\/p>\n

The new rule only applies to people convicted under the Texas Penal Code \u2014 meaning it\u2019s aimed at particularly target violent felonies and crimes involving serious moral turpitude.<\/p>\n

But convicted felons are already ineligible to hold public office in Texas, and some critics argued that barring them from party leadership takes another opportunity away from those who\u2019ve reformed their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be more inclusive,\u201d said San Antonio Republican Patty Gibbons, the mother of the precinct chair Nichols sought to expel. \u201cEven our president is a convicted felon, and he is the leader of our party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nichols contended that his rule left plenty of room for reformed felons to participate as delegates \u2014 while sparing a law-and-order-focused party the embarrassment of violent criminals rising through leadership.<\/p>\n

As it stands, Garcia had already been vying for a bigger position within the local party, Nichols warned Republicans trying to weaken his rule in a committee hearing on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a headline that the Bexar County Republican Party has a convicted child abuser on our county executive committee,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd by God, at least this committee preserved their right to be civically engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 31-member Rules Committee gave preliminary approval to the rule on June 9.<\/p>\n

And after further consideration, the roughly 3,000 convention delegates confirmed by a voice vote on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Still, days after the convention, some Republicans were crowing about a change that received little attention at a convention with many distractions.<\/p>\n

On Friday alone, Gov. Greg Abbott brought a live elephant that urinated on the convention floor<\/a>, a Muslim delegate left the event in tears<\/a> after the state party chair told him to leave the country, and state\u2019s sitting lieutenant governor gave a speech declaring that Democrats\u2019 U.S. Senate candidate was \u201cgoing to hell<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nichols, on the other hand, said that in the days since his rule was adopted, party officials elsewhere in the state have been reaching out to thank him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like there\u2019s this group of people who come and try to get involved, who are oftentimes disruptors, agitators, who cause a great deal of unnecessary headaches for the party \u2014 they\u2019re the ones with felony convictions,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cSo the feedback that I have gotten is that this is a welcome change.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story<\/a> first appeared in the San Antonio Report.<\/p>\n