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The Texas Republican Party is moving forward with the process of closing their primaries, which would prevent Democrats from crossing over in the primary elections and influencing which Republicans run in general elections.
This is something that many members of the Texas GOP have been pushing for for several years, but it's never become a reality in the State of Texas. Opponents of the idea have claimed for years that this would disenfranchise independent voters, but supporters say the Texas GOP has a right to do this, just like a number of other state Republican parties have.
Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George spoke about this saying, "We're gonna go to court, and get this done. We have freedom of association with the people we want to associate with. We are a private organization."
He also says that the party is looking to get this done quickly, and the legal process should be completed before the midterm primaries in spring of next year. He said, "It's a very simple, clear-cut case. Other states have done this, it's not anything new, and they don't need to beat this horse to death anymore."
George also blamed Democratic voter influence on Republican legislators as one of the main reasons for so many Republican priorities failing in the Texas House. He even credited them with keeping the primaries open saying, "We expected our legislators to handle it, as we talk to them all the time, and there were bills filed in support of it. Unfortunately, those bills didn't even get a committee hearing."
He says the lack of action by the legislature is the main reason that the state GOP is now moving forward with a legal strategy to close the primaries.