The Texas GOP is gearing up for a Saturday showdown in Austin where party leaders will decide which Republicans are “real” enough to appear on the 2026 ballot. Under their shiny new Rule 44, anyone deemed insufficiently conservative can be censured — or even barred from running as a Republican. Because apparently, democracy works best when you can just kick out the competition.
Front and center in this political exorcism is House Speaker Dustin Burrows from right here in Lubbock, who’s getting a lighter scolding for the crime of not being mean enough to Democrats. Seven of his allies could face full-on banishment for daring to vote for him as speaker and—brace yourself—approving a rules package that still let Democrats exist in the building.
This is all part of a long-running GOP civil war between the buttoned-up business types and the pitchfork-waving grassroots crowd that thinks compromise is liberal witchcraft. The party’s been sharpening this censure tool for nearly a decade, starting with Joe Straus back when “bathroom bills” were the hot topic. Now, the rule has “teeth,” meaning county parties can literally erase you from the primary ballot if you step out of ideological line.
Even some Republicans admit it’s probably illegal, but that hasn’t slowed anyone down. Critics warn the whole stunt could implode spectacularly in court, but others see that as a feature, not a bug. “Somebody has to blink,” said one committee member, apparently forgetting that the point of blinking is to keep your eyes from drying out while you burn down your own party.
By the time the dust settles, the so-called “most conservative session ever” might end with Republicans suing other Republicans for the right to call themselves Republicans. Meanwhile, Speaker Burrows is out here saying he won’t even respond to the state chair because “he’s not worth responding to.”
Texas politics: where the circular firing squad isn’t a metaphor—it’s the platform.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/08/texas-republican-party-censures-rule-44-primary-ballot/
