To the Republican voters of Harris County:

Thank you for participating in the year-long debate over the state of our party organization and plans for its future. Although I sincerely congratulate Jared Woodfill for his victory in our primary race for the Chair of the Harris County Republican Party, this race was always about more than that office—it was about you and the future of our party. So, I hope you will be the ultimate winners from this race.

But, before I address that point further, let me congratulate a few others who deserve mention:

* My supporters, including leaders from many of the clubs and organizations from around the state and this county, leaders of the Tea Party movement, current and former elected officials and precinct chairs, and activists from every faction and demographic group that comprise our Grand Old Party—I was the just the vessel for your hopes and dreams for a revitalized, united and growing party; it is your spirit that really drove this campaign and will continue to work for a stronger party in the years to come;

* Bob Perry, who graciously helped finance both campaigns and allowed our respective messages to be heard by the voters during the last week of the run-off campaign; and

* Dan Patrick, Dr. Stephen Hotze, and their associates—your highly visible and active embrace of Jared’s campaign and record, and your spirited criticism of me and my supporters, now place the responsibility squarely on your shoulders for making sure Jared’s team actually follows through on its stated commitment to improve the operational and financial management of the party, and to be more inclusive, over the next two years; so, I challenge both of you to make it work.

To make it work, the current team must learn the right lesson from this election: our neighbors, who look to the Republican Party to represent their principles and convictions, want to be included in the operation of this party and its future. Simply put,

* they want their phone calls and emails returned;

* they want the party to produce a transparent strategic plan, budget and fundraising plan, and then implement it;

* they want their money managed properly and with transparency;

* they want to be welcomed to volunteer for the party;

* they want to be welcomed to participate as precinct chairs, or in other capacities, without having to submit to tests or inquisitions;

* they want the party to live by its timeless principles by taking its message into every precinct and neighborhood of this county, and then growing permanently into those communities; and,

* above all else, they want to help win elections and get Republicans in office at every level of government who will promote the principles and convictions we share.

Although I have promised my family and my colleagues that this would be my last campaign for an elective office, I also promise to continue to fight to revitalize this party. As I committed to Jared and the voters during the campaign, I and my supporters are ready to roll-up our sleeves and help unite this party and make the organization work by addressing the concerns that I listed above. In fact, I reiterated this promise to Jared privately yesterday before the polls had even opened. We now publicly extend our hand to Chairman Woodfill, Senator Patrick, Dr. Hotze, and their team of associates, to help address these concerns and elect Republicans. If our hand is accepted, we can re-build a strong party at precisely the time it is needed here and nationally.

If it is not accepted, we will pursue these goals parallel to the party organization, just as Senator Patrick is now doing by creating a parallel organization to the Republican Party itself. However, the proliferation of these hyphenated Republican groups is not healthy for the future of conservatism or the GOP, so I hope and pray that our hand of family, friendship, and alliance will be accepted so we can stand united in our fight for liberty.

If our hand is accepted, then you, the Republicans of Harris County, will be the ultimate winners of this primary season—and that was my goal all along.

Campaign Video - The Time Is Now

Reflections on the last full week of this Campaign

What a week! As early voting has ended, I look back on this week with amazement.

Financially, we started the week at a draw with the incumbent with money raised since the last TEC report filing, and we ended the week with a draw when counting money received and pledged. That second draw was due to the infusion of cash from Bob Perry into both campaigns. Mr. Perry is a great benefactor of our party, whose money has and will allow both sides to take their message to Republican voters through Election Day—allowing the best message and messenger to prevail. My thanks and admiration go to Mr. Perry for his underwriting of the final stage of this race for our party’s future.

Turnout-wise, the turnout so far is surpassing most pundit's expectations. As I stood out at the early-voting poll in Kingwood on Friday, I was impressed by the steady stream of voters and of the education they had gone through to prepare for their votes. We will probably exceed 30,000 voters when the votes are counted on Tuesday night, and that is a great statement about the interest in our party and its future.

Politically, I have seen the breathless support and criticism from friend and “foe” (though we are all family) alike in this race as the week has proceeded, and with continuing questions raised about my history, my beliefs, my judgment, and my commitment to the Republican Party. One of the bright spots was when an old friend of high school not only found me on Facebook, but came to my defense and posted about my conservative activism even as a high school student--thanks, Jim, and good to hear from you after all these years.

In response to the criticism, let’s just say that I have never claimed to be perfect (nor my judgment to be infallible), but my commitment to this party, and to its unity and growth, is total. As I have reiterated often during this campaign, I will support the party if this race ends with the incumbent’s victory, and I have already started that process by committing to the RNC that I would help—win or lose—with the creation and implementation of a pilot program here in Harris County to grow the party into Latino, Asian-American and African-American neighborhoods and precincts, and to recruit Republicans to run for city and school board races.

I also hear and see the last-minute rallying around the incumbent, and the statements that I, and my supporters, are dividing the party at the wrong time, and are distorting the record of the incumbent. With that final criticism in mind, here is the question I pose to you as we enter this last weekend of the race: if everything that the current team at Richmond Avenue has done is so great, why am I essentially running even in fundraising with the incumbent since the last reporting period, and why do I have the support of so many party leaders, civic leaders, and conservative organizations in this race against a 4-term incumbent? This level of support for a challenger in a Republican primary is unprecedented—and it is unprecedented for a reason: the current team has been organizationally and financially floundering for years, and all the insiders know it, and all the activists can see it. The Obama Wave simply unearthed this truth for all to see.

Therefore, let me leave you with a paraphrase of Reagan’s immortal question: Are you Harris County Republicans better off now than you were in 2002?

If your answer is “No”, my candidacy has, at long last, given you a choice on April 13th for a different future.

Coffee with the Candidate

On Friday morning, from 9am-10am, I'd like to invite you to stop by for "Coffee with the Candidate". We will be meeting at Blue Planet Cafe at 1330 Wirt Rd at Westview (a little north of I-10), in the Bell Tower Center. Stop by before work for a cup of coffee, a latte, a juice or a breakfast treat, and we can talk a little politics while we're at it. After our visit, you can proceed one block up Wirt Road to the Trini Mendenhall Sosa Community Center where you can cast your ballot in the Republican runoff election.

Blue Planet Cafe is a real source of pride in our community. They are an independent cafe, on April 15th they will be celebrating their first year in business. Once a month, Blue Planet Cafe features a local organization doing good work in the community. A portion of the tips they collect for that month goes to the organization. But beyond just a monetary contribution, Blue Planet Cafe allows the featured organization to leave their literature for the cafe customers to peruse and possibly get involved. We are glad to have found a cafe, which by the way has very good food and drinks, that is putting principles we believe in to work by supporting a community and seeking people who help people, rather than government doing this work.

You can learn more about Blue Planet Cafe at www.BluePlanetCafe.biz.

A Greeting for Easter and Passover

Let me take a break from preparing for early voting next week to wish happiness to all this weekend who are celebrating either Easter or Passover. There is one word that has come to mind as I’ve thought about both holidays this year: Liberty.

For Passover is, at its core, the celebration of the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt and the journey to the Promised Land; while the Resurrection gives us the promise of liberation from sin and from the law of the Pharisees. As Paul tells us in Galatians:

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled with one word, even in this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I know that those of us who cherish Liberty, and who support the Promised Land of Israel, feel like we have not had a lot to celebrate recently. We’ve witnessed our government usurp powers it was never intended to have, and recently it needlessly strained relations with our closest ally in the Holy Lands—Israel. But with all this, we must recognize that we are entering a new season of Liberty, and we must fight for it, and pray for it. Therefore, this weekend let’s together recite and remember the concluding words of the traditional Passover prayer: Next year in Jerusalem.