- The State Republican Executive Committee voted to censure two Republican State Representatives endorsed by President Trump and authorized spending money against them in the Republican Primary – funds that could otherwise be used to defeat Democrats and help expand Trump’s GOP majority in Congress
- The censure resolutions against Trump-endorsed State Representatives Angelia Orr and Jared Patterson cited multiple votes against them where they voted alongside a majority of their Republican colleagues
- Newly released polling shows that 75.9% of likely Republican Primary voters approve of the job that Texas Republican state lawmakers have done
The State Republican Executive Committee, the governing body of the Republican Party of Texas, met on Saturday where they voted to oppose President Trump in two Texas House races.
The votes came at a special meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee, where members debated censure resolutions brought against ten incumbent Republican State Representatives. The Committee voted not to concur in five of those resolutions.
The Committee did vote to concur in censure resolutions brought against State Representatives Stan Lambert, Dade Phelan, Gary VanDeaver, Angelia Orr, and Jared Patterson. Of those five, Lambert and Phelan are not seeking re-election, Orr and Patterson have been endorsed for re-election by President Trump, and VanDeaver has not announced whether he will seek re-election.
Despite threats by some Party activists threatening to seek to ban censured Republican elected officials from the Republican Primary Ballot under changes made to Republican Party of Texas Rule 44 at the Party’s state convention last year, the State Republican Executive Committee declined to impose the new ballot access penalty on any censured legislator.
The penalties imposed in the censure resolutions ratified by the State Republican Executive Committee include authorizing the Party to oppose the censured lawmakers in the upcoming Republican Primary, authorizing the Party to spend Party funds against the censured lawmakers in the Primary, and discouraging the censured lawmakers from participating in the Republican Primary.
The Party’s censures of Orr and Patterson put it in direct conflict with President Trump. Orr and Patterson have both earned President Trump’s endorsement for re-election, and funds spent by the Party to oppose Orr and Patterson in the Republican Primary could otherwise be spent to defeat Democrats or assist in building President Trump’s majorities in Congress.
The resolutions censuring Orr and Patterson, along with the process used to ratify the resolutions, were marred by inconsistencies and were based on votes in which both Orr and Patterson were part of Republican majorities. Critics of the censure resolutions claim that they were motivated by political ambition and personalities and not public policy.
In August, the State Republican Executive Committee adopted its Legislative Task Force Report after extensive debate and discussion over multiple meetings. The report, which was designed to provide guidance to County Party organizations about what actions were censurable, only found that three lawmakers – State Representatives Ken King and Dade Phelan and State Senator Robert Nichols – had committed three or more censurable actions. Of those three, only Phelan was the subject of a censure resolution considered by the Committee.
Under Rule 44, an officeholder can be censured if it is deemed that they have taken three or more actions contrary to the Party’s legislative priorities or principles.
Despite the Legislative Task Force Report findings adopted by the Party in August, the censure resolutions ratified by the State Republican Executive Committee on Saturday included items that the Committee had expressly declined to include as censure strikes in the Legislative Task Force Report. That report found that Orr and Patterson each only had one censure strike – a vote in favor of ending debate on the Texas House Rules.
The censure resolution against Orr cited seven alleged censurable actions.
The first alleged violation was Orr’s vote for Dustin Burrows for Speaker of the Texas House. The State Republican Executive Committee declined to include the Speaker’s vote as a censurable offense in its Legislative Task Force Report.
Burrows has been praised by President Trump, and President Trump has endorsed Burrows for re-election to both the Texas House and as Speaker of the Texas House.
In an August 21, 2025, post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“Dustin Burrows is a True Warrior for Republicans, and is doing a fantastic job as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives!
Thanks to Dustin’s strong and effective Leadership of the Texas House, the incredible people of Texas will have the opportunity to elect five more Republicans to Congress, thanks to the passage of their much more fair new Map — A BIG WIN for Republicans in Texas, and across the Country! As Speaker, Dustin is fighting tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Lower Taxes, Cut Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Advance American Energy DOMINANCE by helping to keep the price of Gasoline, Oil, and all forms of Energy VERY LOW, Continue to Secure our already Secure Border, Champion School Choice, Support our Military/Veterans, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.
Dustin Burrows has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election, as Speaker, and to House District 83 — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
The censure resolution against Orr then cited two actions related to the closing debate on the Texas House Rules. After a lengthy discussion in August, the State Republican Executive Committee voted that only the vote in favor of ending debate on the House Rules should be a censure strike.
Orr sided with a majority of House Republicans on both actions related to the Texas House rules that were cited against her.
The resolution censuring Orr then cited her vote in support of Senate Bill 22, a priority item of Republican Lt. Governor Dan Patrick that creates an economic incentive fund for the moving image industry in Texas. This legislation, which was signed into law by Governor Abbott, had strong Republican majority support in both the Texas House and Texas Senate.
Orr was also censured for voting in favor of Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 12, which the censure resolution alleged “preserved DEI-related language in public education policy.”
Only two Republicans voted against this amendment. Orr was one of 14 Republicans to place a statement in the House Journal afterward stating that she intended to vote against the amendment. Other Republican State Representatives who joined Orr in placing identical statements in the House Journal included Janis Holt, Andy Hopper, Mike Olcott, Katrina Pierson, Tony Tinderholt, and Steve Toth.
The resolution censuring Orr then goes on to cite her vote in support of House Bill 366, which the resolution falsely claimed would ban AI-generated political memes. The legislation, which did not ban any type of protected speech, only required a disclosure statement to be provided on political advertising that depicted an image, audio, or video that did not occur in reality. A majority of Republicans who voted on House Bill 366 joined Orr in voting for the legislation.
The last item cited in the resolution censuring Orr was her support of Senate Bill 1, the state budget. However, the record vote cited in the resolution – record vote #174 – was not a vote in support of passage of the budget, but was instead in support of a motion by State Representative Tony Tinderholt to instruct members of the conference committee to fund an additional $4 billion in property tax relief. Record Vote #174 passed by a 97-48 vote, with no Republican opposition.
Orr voted for Senate Bill 1 on final passage, along with the vast majority of Republicans in the Texas House and Texas Senate. Texas House Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu was among the 21 votes against Senate Bill 1 in the Texas House.
The censure resolution against Orr originated in Leon County. The Chair of the Leon County Republican Party, Carol Milder, is a strong supporter of Kathaleen Wall, who is opposing Orr in the Republican Primary. In one Facebook post, Milder stated that her “goal” when she became County Chair in Leon County was that Orr not run unopposed. In July, Milder posted pictures of herself accompanying Wall at an event in Washington, DC. Campaign finance records reflect that Milder is also a donor to Wall’s campaign against Orr.
The Texas Voice has previously reported that Wall recently donated $25,000 to Grassroots America We the People, an organization that has aligned itself with George Soros by opposing Proposition 3 on the November State Constitutional Amendment ballot. Proposition 3’s associated legislation, which concerns bail reform, was supported by Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, public safety advocates, and had unanimous Republican support in both the Texas House and Texas Senate. Several groups funded by George Soros opposed the legislation.
The resolution censuring Patterson was similar in many respects to the resolution censuring Orr.
Among the nine items cited in the resolution to censure Patterson were his vote in favor of Dustin Burrows, two items related to ending debate on the House rules, his vote in favor of House Bill 366, his vote in favor of Senate Bill 22, and his vote in favor of Senate Bill 1. These votes were also cited in the resolution to censure Orr, even though they were not included as censurable actions in the Legislative Task Force Report adopted by the State Republican Executive Committee in August.
In addition to those items, the resolution censuring Patterson also cited his votes in favor of House Bill 104, Amendment #4 to Senate Bill 17, and Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 2753. Patterson joined a majority of House Republicans in each of these votes.
Patterson’s Republican colleague from Denton County, State Representative Mitch Little, also voted with Patterson and a majority of House Republicans in favor of Amendment #4 to Senate Bill 17, and Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 2753.
Had the Denton County Republican Party – which initiated the censure resolution against Patterson – and the State Republican Executive Committee applied these votes uniformly, Little would have been among the numerous other Republican State Representatives eligible for censure since he also voted in favor of Senate Bill 1.
David Wylie, a member of the State Republican Executive Committee who resides in Denton County, made his personal feelings about Patterson clear in his comments in support of the resolution to censure Patterson.
“He’s the one that we would censure because we just don’t like him,” said Wylie.
Speaking on an X space on Sunday, State Republican Executive Committeewoman Rachel Horton indicated that defeating Patterson in the Republican Primary would be a priority for the Texas GOP.
“I will go ahead and affirm for you that out of all of the races, we are very most likely to be putting some little extra oomph in that Patterson race,” said Horton, who added, “I can guarantee you there will be some flyers coming out with the stamp of the Republican Party of Texas thanks to that censure.”
Some Republican leaders in Patterson’s district remain steadfast in support of Patterson and are questioning the motivations behind his censure.
“There’s really not a solid conservative argument against Jared Patterson. Sure, not everyone will be on board with him 100% of the time, but he was elected to represent HD106 and has done a good job serving his constituents in the Texas House—his record proves that. He’s pushed conservative legislation for the past few sessions in Austin. The censure he faced was fueled by power and not the conservative Republican principles,” said Judy Adams, a Republican Precinct Chair in Patterson’s district.
“Voters have the right to have their voices heard at the polls, which is why we have elections. The 2024 Texas GOP convention saw much lower attendance compared to previous years. The low turnout allowed a specific faction within the party to gain influence, secure leadership positions, and elect their preferred candidate for state party chair. This group does not represent the millions of Republican voters.”
Meanwhile, newly released polling shows that Texas Republican Primary voters overwhelmingly approve of the job Republican state lawmakers have done.
The poll, conducted by Republican polling firm Hunt Research, found that 75.9% of likely 2026 Republican Primary voters across Texas approve of the job that Republican Texas State Legislators have done. Dr. Ross Hunt of Hunt Research also noted that “Republicans who live in districts with GOP State Reps would re-elect their incumbents rather than vote against them by a 3:1 margin.”
