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SREC Refuses to Punish House Speaker
and Some Allies with Two Key Exceptions
Capitol Inside
October 11, 2025
The State Republican Executive Committee voted on Saturday to pull its support for a pair of incumbents who are seeking re-election and three more who aren't running again in 2026 after backing down on threats to punish representatives for partisan disloyalty by blocking them from the primary ballot.
But the SREC torpedoed local censure resolutions that targeted Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and several high-level GOP allies including State Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland, Cody Harris of Palestine, Jeff Leach of Allen and Morgan Meyer of Dallas and needed three-fifths support on the state party's governing board for concurrence.
SREC members voted 38-20 to give Burrows a pass on potential retaliation for refusing to toe the party line when it rejected censure resolutions targeting the lower chamber's top leader. Sixty percent of the governing board's members opposed taking action against the Lubbock lawmaker who claimed the gavel for the first time in January. While a majority of activists on the party governing board voted to concur with local party resolutions taking aim at the four who escaped sanctions, the proposals fell short of the 60 percent threshold required for ratification.
The SREC's tossing censure proposals that had been approved by local party organizations in Brazos and Hays counties cleared the path for the Lubbock lawmaker's first quest for re-election as speaker with victories in the primary and general elections both foregone conclusions.
But the SREC concurred in censor resolutions against State Reps. Angelia Or of Itasca, Jared Patterson of Frisco and Gary VanDeaver of New Boston. All three are Burrows lieutenants who faced many the same basic allegations under the state party platform Rule 44 as colleagues who were cleared. The governing board's members also adopted resolutions for censures for two Burrows allies who aren't seeking new terms at the polls next year in State Rep. Stan Lambert of Abilene and former Speaker Dade Phelan of Beaumont.
Orr, a second-term House member, has a serious primary challenger in Kat Walls - a wealthy former Houston resident who spent a substantial sum of personal fund on unsuccessful congressional bids before a move to north Central Texas where she's running now. Walls known as Kathaleen Walls in races for U.S. House seats in the Houston area in 2018 and 2020.
The SREC vote today clears the way for the party to throws his muscle behind Walls in a bid to oust Orr in Texas House District 13. The Texas GOP has the ability now to back challengers against Patterson in House District 101 and VanDeaver in House District 1. VanDeaver has appeared on track for a primary remach with Chris Spencer.
more to come ...
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