By an overwhelming majority, a conservative businessman was elected chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party in a stinging rebuke to establishment officeholders.
Businessman Phillip Huffines received 120 of the 154 precinct chair votes, leaving a liberal extremist in the dust. Amnesty supporter and immigration lawyer Elizabeth Bingham had previously written about her opposition to traditional values and her disdain for conservatives.
Huffines said the results show “the Dallas County Republican Party is now united” and vowed to “take the fight to the Democrats.”
He was opposed by U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions and State Rep. Jason Villalba, who have both taken positions at odds with the Republican Party platform and fought against voters on key issues. Bingham was also supported by State Reps. Linda Koop, Rodney Anderson, Kenneth Sheets, Angie Chen Button, and Cindy Burkett.
Meanwhile, grassroots activists inside the local party have signaled a desire to elect more conservative and impartial party leadership, and have long criticized powerful lawmakers and party elites for brokering political treaties with Democrats.
The election came after last month’s sudden resignation of Mark Montgomery, who was recently elected chairman by ousting Wade Emmert. It has since been revealed by Montgomery that Sessions and others were holding the party’s finances hostage, demanding that Montgomery route key fundraising functions through Sessions’ office.
