Tarrant GOP: Republicans’ vote on college polling sites undermines party’s ability to win
The Tarrant County Republican Party on Monday called out members of its own party for voting against the county’s highest elected official on the issue of voting sites on college campuses.
County GOP Chair Bo French shared a party resolution on X expressing disapproval of Republican County Commissioners Manny Ramirez and Gary Fickes, who voted Thursday to approve a list of early voting sites that included eight college campuses.
County Judge Tim O’Hare voted against the motion, which was brought by Ramirez, holding that polling locations on college campuses unfairly favor a small segment of the voting population. His opponents decried the move as voter suppression.
Ramirez and Fickes “voted with Democrats on a key election vote that undermines the ability of Republicans to win the general election in Tarrant County,” the resolution states.
The resolution calls out Ramirez specifically for signaling “a disregard for the interests of the party and its constituents,” and urges him and Fickes to “reconsider their political decisions to better reflect the values and expectations of the Republican electorate.”
O’Hare has said publicly that low voter turnout is advantageous to conservatives in Tarrant County.
Ramirez and Fickes did not make themselves available for comment after Tuesday’s Commissioners Court session.
French said in an email that he thinks “very highly” of Ramirez and that it is incorrect to label the back-and-forth as party infighting.
“Elected officials sometimes make mistakes. Pointing that out is not a personal attack,” he said. “Most Republicans believe that when you vote with the radical leftist mob, you are not representing the people who put you in office.”
French fired the first shot on Thursday after the sites were approved, accusing Ramirez and Fickes of siding “with the Leftist mob.”
In the ensuing days, text messages sent by the Tarrant County Patriots PAC urged Republican voters to call and ask Ramirez “why he wants anti-Trump, anti-Cruz Democrats to win in November.”
Ramirez responded in a letter addressed to French over the weekend by accusing the party chair of spreading misinformation about him and the other Republicans on the Commissioners Court.
“Additionally, you’ve used party resources and shadow PACs to attack me, all because of a personal disagreement on a single issue,” Ramirez said in the letter.
In an attempt to “set the record straight,” Ramirez wrote that he made his motion and vote on the recommendation of County Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig and that he proposed adding more early voting sites at senior centers.
When asked by O’Hare at the Sept. 4 session how many early voting sites he recommended for the county, Ludwig said between 60 and 70.
Ramirez has received support from local elected officials.
Texas Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican, posted Ramirez’s letter to French on X on Saturday, and thanked the commissioner for “standing on conservative principles and keeping polling locations on college campuses. Republicans know how to earn the vote.”
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker posted Ramirez’s letter on Tuesday, saying that Ramirez should not be vilified for his vote.
“Democracy is meant to be an arena for ideas,” she said. “When we resort to winning at the expense of voter turnout, we’ve all lost.”
Ramirez “recognizes that it’s the communication of ideas and policies and ability to bring people together that wins elections not partisan politics,” she continued. “We may run for office under the banner of one party but once elected you take an oath to serve all.”
French said he is on good terms with Geren, and even had coffee with him on Monday. Both “came away agreeing on many topics,” he said, adding that he hopes to do the same with Parker in the near future.
This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 2:22 PM.
