Texas Republican Party chair Matt Rinaldi on Monday announced his endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
“While party officials should remain neutral in primaries absent extraordinary circumstances, the threat our nation faces from the Democrats, globalists, and fake Republicans that hand power to Democrats is truly extraordinary. We need everyone in this fight,” Mr. Rinaldi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Texas Republican primary is scheduled to take place on March 5, also known as Super Tuesday.
A recent poll on the Texas GOP primary, released by Emerson College on Jan. 18, found President Trump polling at 69 percent among likely voters, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley finishing with 11 percent support. Meanwhile, 7 percent of the respondents supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ now-suspended campaign, while 9 percent were undecided.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have both endorsed the former president, as well as Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Many House lawmakers from Texas have also chosen to endorse the former president, including Reps. Jodey Arrington, August Pfluger, Monica De La Cruz, Keith Self, and Lance Gooden.
President Trump won both Republican races in Iowa and New Hampshire this month, becoming the first non-incumbent Republican to win the two contests. Ms. Haley, the only remaining major challenger for the GOP nomination, has vowed to stay in the race until Super Tuesday regardless of what happens in the South Carolina primary.
Following the former president’s victory in New Hampshire, some GOP lawmakers began calling on Republicans to unite behind the former president. Last week, Mr. Cruz predicted that Ms. Haley would lose the South Carolina primary, which is on Feb. 3, and then drop out of the race soon after.
In an open letter dated Jan. 25, more than 40 Republican county chairs in Texas announced their endorsement of the former president.
“It is our considered judgment that the GOP primary for President is now over,” the county chairs wrote. “We believe it is now time for all Republicans to unify behind our nominee. There is no time to waste. Too much is at stake.”
In recent days, two more senators—Sen. John Kennedy (R-Ra.) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.)—have announced their endorsement of the former president.
Currently, President Trump has received endorsements from more than 30 senators.
According to the latest national poll from the Morning Consult, President Trump led President Joe Biden by 2 percentage points, or 44 percent to 42 percent. The poll surveyed 6,487 registered voters from Jan. 26 to Jan. 28.
Among independent voters, 42 percent of respondents supported the former president, while 30 percent supported President Biden. 11 percent didn’t have an opinion while the remaining 17 percent picked someone else.
In his Monday’s X post, Mr. Rinaldi also reiterated his endorsement of David Covey, who is running against Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan in the GOP primary for Texas Legislature’s District 21 on March 5.
The Texas Republican Party approved a resolution in September last year calling on Mr. Phelan to resign as speaker, in part because of his efforts to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Both Mr. Phelan and Mr. Covey have endorsed President Trump for president in 2024. In an X post last month, Mr. Covey explained that the former president “is the clear choice of any America First Republican who supports a strong economy and a strong border.”
Earlier this month, Mr. Covey took to X to say how he would address the border crisis if elected.
“Allowing a constant flow of unknown illegal aliens to cross our sovereign border exposes our communities to dangerous drugs, human trafficking, and cartels,” Mr. Covey wrote. “As your State Rep, on the first day of the legislative session, I will file a bill to declare an invasion of our state and authorize DPS [Department of Public Safety] to repel invaders at the border.”
From The Epoch Times