Jane Nelson/Photo via Texas Secretary of State
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson will fight a lawsuit brought by the Texas GOP and local Republican Chip Hunt.
The lawsuit, as we have previously reported, seeks to close the Republican Primary Election to registered members of the Republican Party, citing constitutional concerns with existing statutes prohibiting closed primaries. Hunt and the Texas GOP sued both the State of Texas and Texas Secretary of State.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, on behalf of the State of Texas, filed a motion for consent judgement, siding with Hunt and the Texas GOP in their effort to close the primaries. In the motion, he asked Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson to join him, though Nelson has declined to do so.
In a motion filed in court, the Secretary of State called the motion for consent judgment “brazen and misguided.” The 22 page motion makes various claims that the lawsuit is defective, including contending that the court should allow time for the state legislature to make any changes desired by the plaintiffs ahead of the 2028 primary.
In a separate motion to dismiss, the Secretary of State claims the plaintiffs lack standing and that their claims are not yet ripe for review.
In a statement, Nelson stated she is not opposed to closed primaries.
“I have never expressed opposition to closed primaries, and I would gladly implement any statutory changes that the Texas Legislature sees fit to enact in the future,” said Nelson. “But the existing statutes were duly enacted by our Legislature. I put my hand on Sam Houston’s Bible and swore an oath to uphold the laws and Constitution of this state, and I am bound to do that."
One other notable revelation from the recent motions filed by the Secretary of State is that her defense team includes Thomas C. Riney of Amarillo’s Underwood Law Firm.
The full statement from the Secretary of State and links to the motions filed can be found here.