A federal district judge has issued a stay in the Texas GOP’s lawsuit against open primaries, meaning all legal proceedings will be halted until the conclusion of the 2027 legislative session.
Because Texas lawmakers are expected to pass legislation closing primaries during the session, the court determined that it would be best to hold off on issuing a ruling.
Background
Texas law requires open primary elections, meaning the Republican Party must allow any eligible voter to vote in its nominating contests.
However, the Republican Party desires a closed primary system. Party leaders say the current system allows non-Republicans to select GOP nominees, undermining both the party’s platform and its conservative voters.
The party therefore adopted and ratified Rule 46, requiring voters in its primary elections to preregister as Republicans.
In September 2025, Chip Hunt and the Texas GOP filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Amarillo, asking the court for a consent judgment declaring that Texas’ primary election law violates the Republican Party’s First Amendment associational rights.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk acknowledged that this is a difficult question of constitutional law. He wrote that the “answer to this constitutional question is not a simple matter of applying precedent.”
The most relevant U.S. Supreme Court case to consider is the California Democratic Party v. Jones from 2000, in which the Court held that California’s blanket primary severely burdened political parties’ associational rights by forcing them to affiliate with nonmembers in the candidate-selection process.
However, in the same case, the Court said open primaries may be constitutionally distinct from blanket primaries and “expressly left open the question of whether mandatory open primaries are constitutional.”
The Supreme Court has acknowledged that states have “a major role to play in structuring and monitoring the election process, including primaries,” while also vigorously affirming “the special place the First Amendment reserves for, and the special protection it accords, the process by which a political party selects a standard bearer who best represents the party’s ideologies and preferences.”
The Ruling
On Friday, Judge Kacsmaryk decided to stay the case until after the 2027 legislative session, in which the Texas Legislature is expected to amend its Primary Election law. All legal proceedings will therefore be halted for the foreseeable future.
“Legislative developments may resolve this case without the need for judicial intervention,” concluded Kacsmaryk. “For the reasons below, this case is STAYED pending the 2027 Regular Session of the Texas Legislature.”
Kacsmaryk reasoned that rather than ruling on such a difficult question, it would be best to wait until the legislature has an opportunity to change the law. Such a change could make any potential ruling on the matter no longer relevant.
“The Texas Legislature should have an opportunity to choose how it will structure Texas’s primaries going forward,” wrote Kacsmaryk. “The Court can then address the constitutional question, if necessary. Thus, this Court chooses to ‘exercis[e] a wise discretion, [and] restrain [its] authority because of scrupulous regard for the rightful independence of the state governments.’”
He further reasoned that issuing a stay has minimal, if any, impact on the parties. Because the next Republican Party primary is in 2028, there is little difference between resolving the matter now and next year.
What Happens Next
Judge Kacsmaryk ordered the parties to “promptly file a status report when either (1) the Texas Legislature passes, and the Governor signs into law, legislation modifying the State’s primary election law; or (2) the 2027 Regular Session of the Texas Legislature ends without any relevant changes to Texas’s primary election law.”
The session is scheduled to conclude on May 31, 2027. Kacsmaryk ordered that parties shall file a status report on or before Friday, June 4, 2027, at 5 p.m.
The report must include an explanation of any changes to Texas’ Primary Election law and whether the parties wish to reurge any motions for relief after the Court lifts the stay.
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