For years, South Texas has been a Democrat stronghold in the Lone Star State. Republicans in one South Texas county are on a mission to change that.
Conservatives from across the county recently gathered in Laredo for the kickoff organizational meeting of the Webb County Republican Party. It’s a time of rebuilding for the party. County Chair Bill Young was confirmed to fill the vacancy by the Senate Republican Executive Committee in December and has since set out to jumpstart the party.
“Democrats take South Texas for granted because of the political machine they have in place,” said Young. “Building our educational and grassroots organization will increase our party.”
At their kickoff meeting, people filled the room, listening to various speakers, signing up to fill precinct chair positions, and enjoying food and fellowship with other like-minded conservatives in an area where they can sometimes seem few and far between.
Even the state chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, James Dickey, made an appearance, something Young attributed the enthusiastic attendance to.
“Having Chairman Dickey was a big boost to our local party and was the talk on the street here,” said Young. “It gave the local Republicans know that the State knows who we are”
“It also let local closeted Republicans start coming out of the closet knowing the State Chairman cares about Laredo,” he added.
After the kickoff, Dickey said he was excited and encouraged by the attendance.
“What a pleasant surprise it was,” said Dickey. “I knew that Chairman Young had been working very hard to make sure they had a lot of people to know how much we want people to be involved.”
“We are glad we are to have supporters from across the state, including in Laredo. It absolutely showed in the turnout. What a fantastic group of people,” he added.
