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Monty Montanez was elected Dallas County Republican Party Chair on June 25, 2026. He’s pledging to rebuild the GOP base in a Democratic stronghold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Monty Montanez<\/p>\n
As the newly elected Dallas County GOP chair, Monty\u00a0Montanez said he\u2019s focused on engaging with voters and trying to restore the Republican Party\u2019s weight in a county that has been solidly blue for two decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s less interested in talking about turmoil that came before him after the party’s demand for precinct-based voting on the March 3 primary day. That shift from the vote-anywhere system ended with thousands of confused Republicans and Democrats showing up to wrong locations.<\/a> And it led to the resignation of then-chair Allen West<\/a>, who restored countywide voting for the runoff to avoid repeat chaos but drew ire from much of his party.<\/p>\n Montanez declined to say whether as chair he will push for precinct-based voting in the 2028 primary, because the party’s plan \u201cis still being put together.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But after being elected by Republican precinct chairs June 25 to serve West\u2019s abandoned two-year term, Montanez, 46, has laid out a goal of\u00a0boosting the party’s reputation as his long game. He said he\u2019s looking to move the party past\u00a0recent dysfunction by rebuilding the GOP\u2019s grassroots base, finances, candidate pool and election turnout \u2014 an uphill battle in a county where Democrats dependably win elections.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal is to build a stronger, more united party that supports our volunteers, earns the trust of our community and works every day to elect Republicans,\u201d Montanez said.<\/p>\n Secure elections<\/p>\n He started his tenure by touring the Dallas County elections department and meeting with Elections Administrator Paul Adams, whom Montanez said he has \u201ccomplete confidence in.\u201d West, who became chair in 2024, repeatedly questioned the integrity of Dallas County\u2019s voting machines and pushed unproven allegations of election fraud<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Montanez said he doesn\u2019t share the same concerns about Dallas County\u2019s voting equipment or countywide voting system, though he prefers precincts and hand-marked paper ballots.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cBeing there and walking through and asking all the questions and listening to everyone, I felt completely comfortable that our elections are secure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Voters walk out of a voting center during primary election runoff day at University Park United Methodist Church on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n He\u2019s also looking to shore up the party\u2019s finances, and was surprised to learn the county Republican Party did not have a formal budget.\u00a0Montanez, a former Air Force staff sergeant and international business executive, said he created one his first week on the job.<\/p>\n Montanez said the party has about a month\u2019s worth of cash on hand for operating, a position he said he’s already trying to change through aggressive fundraising.<\/p>\n From January through June, the Republican Party raised about $53,000 after accounting for refunds, according to\u00a0Montanez. In comparison, within his first two weeks as chair, he said he helped secure $28,500 in contributions, though public disclosures for that period are not yet available.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe ideas themselves are not new or novel, but he\u2019s a good leader and he has the intelligence and the potential to achieve that,\u201d said Republican precinct chair Matt Patrick.<\/p>\n Kardal Coleman, chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, said he doesn’t see Republicans gaining ground. In this year’s primary, Democratic voters made up 73% of all ballots cast.\u00a0<\/p>\n County Democrats have raised $250,000 so far this year, Coleman said. He said they are aiming to hit $2 million for 2026 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dallas County flipping blue.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We\u2019re focused on growing our majority by continuing to deliver on the issues that matter most to Texans, like creating good-paying jobs, lowering costs, expanding access to affordable health care, strengthening public education and protecting fundamental freedoms,” Coleman said.<\/p>\n New approach<\/p>\n<\/p>\n