As we enter the third week of Texas Democrats’ leave of absence from Austin to prevent a vote on the election bill, the new chair of the Republican Party of Texas has a simple answer when asked if he sees any room for compromise once the Democrats do return.
“No. I absolutely don’t. If they wanted to compromise they would have stayed in Austin and gone to work. And then we could have debated each issue point-by-point. And the legislature would have made a decision,” Matt Rinaldi declared on Inside Texas Politics.
Matt Rinaldi takes over for the often-controversial Allen West, who stepped down to run for governor. And before he became party chair, Rinaldi himself had thrown his support behind another challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott, former state Sen. Don Huffines. But since his election to lead the state party, Rinaldi has pulled his endorsement.
“I plan on working closely with all Republican officials. I don’t think a chairman should take sides in a primary. Our job is to win general elections in 2022,” he said.
Rinaldi does acknowledge some splinters with the state and national GOP. But he says that’s normal and to be expected, as he says there have been differences of opinions at every place he’s ever worked and every organization he’s ever been a part of. And his goal of winning should help placate some members.
His vision over the next year, before the next election for party chair, is to build an infrastructure to use for fundraising and “boots on the ground” to help expand their majority in the 2022 election.
“We’re going to have a redistricting year. We’re going to have a lot of opportunities to grow our congressional delegation, to grow our majorities in the House and Senate and to continue winning statewide elections,” said Rinaldi.
Watch his full interview on Inside Texas Politics below: