Robert Howden, Texas’ new secretary of state, will continue defending the state’s open primary system in court, dashing hopes among some Republicans that a change in leadership at the agency would bring a change in its position.
“The only thing that has changed in this case is the name of the defendant,” lawyers for the secretary of state’s office wrote in a legal filing Monday.
The filing said Howden would “gladly implement statutory changes” to the primary system if lawmakers pass them. But for now, he is sticking with the position taken by his predecessor, Jane Nelson: This is a question for the Legislature, not the courts.
“This issue can and will be resolved by the Legislature in the coming months,” Howden said in the filing, calling the Legislature the right venue for “thoughtfully crafting the detailed scheme that would govern it.”
That puts Howden, Gov. Greg Abbott’s former legislative director, at odds with the Texas Republican Party in a lawsuit that has become both a political priority and a financial burden for the party.
The Texas GOP sued last year to strike down the state’s open primary system. Under current law, Texans register to vote without declaring a party affiliation and can choose which party’s primary to participate in.
Republican activists have long argued that the system allows Democrats and independents to cross over into GOP primaries and help determine the party’s nominees. They want voters to register with a party before being allowed to participate in its primary.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sided with the Texas GOP in the lawsuit, forcing Nelson, then the secretary of state, to find separate legal representation for her agency. Nelson, a Republican and former state senator, argued in court filings that any overhaul of the primary system should be left to lawmakers.
What began as a conservative grassroots priority has since picked up support from some of the state’s most powerful Republicans.
Speaking to a cheering crowd at the Texas Republican Convention in June, Abbott said he wanted to “make clear that in the future, only Republicans vote in Republican primaries.”
He later told Texas Scorecard that lawmakers “can and should be more responsive to Republicans than a judge may be.”
A spokesperson for Abbott, who appoints the secretary of state, did not respond to a request for comment.
Nelson’s retirement last month raised hopes among some Republicans that her successor would abandon the agency’s defense of the current system. Howden’s filing makes clear that won’t happen.
The case, filed in federal court in Amarillo, has also taken a toll on the Texas GOP’s finances. After the party convention, newly elected Chair D’rinda Randall reported that the party’s largest unpaid debt was for legal fees stemming from the lawsuit.
The Texas GOP did not respond to a request for comment.
