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Allen West, the controversial Dallas County Republican Party chairman who has touted voter-fraud conspiracies and scoffed at COVID-19 precautions, will call for a vote on his own removal from leadership this month amid disagreements over precinct-based voting.
In a statement published Monday, West signaled that his decision to return to joint elections in the May runoff has been unpopular among the party’s county executive committee. That committee will vote on West’s potential removal on April 20. If he is successfully removed, Vice Chair Tami Brown-Rodriguez will take over as the local party’s leader.
Before now, West has been a staunch supporter of precinct-based voting, and even originally intended to pursue hand-counted ballots before dropping the idea due to cost, staffing and logistical issues. Precinct-based voting caused confusion and chaos during the March 3 primary because it limited the poll locations where voters could cast ballots on election day.
The confusion resulted in thousands of voters either being turned away from a polling location or having their ballots tossed because they were cast too late.
To stand by that voting strategy again during the May 26 runoff election would be “exposing the Dallas County Republican Party to a most dangerous course of action,” West warned, including lawsuits that allege voter disenfranchisement.
“The decision that I made was one rooted in years of understanding leadership and its responsibilities, namely, protecting your troops,” West said. “If there are those who do not see this as noble and honorable, that is fine with me. I have stated my position and under my watch as chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party will not expose this organization to potential damaging legal efforts.”
He added, “My removal will not be due to any nefarious, corrupt or scandalous actions on my part. It will be because a group of individuals wishes to have their way, and expose the organization to potential harm. I will not be a signatory to such, as it would violate every leadership principle that I know.”
The Observer’s email for clarification went unanswered by the Dallas County Republican Party, but West told The Dallas Morning News that his decision to step back from his post came after 35 party members signed a petition protesting his move away from precinct-based voting.
West’s fear of litigation isn’t totally unfounded, said SMU Associate Professor Ben Voth, who has provided expert witness testimony in voter discrimination cases. While West’s statement accuses Democrats of being “devious” enough to bring forward that type of lawsuit, Voth said both parties have been responsible for litigation on the state and federal levels.
“I do think it’s plausible that there could be lawsuits,” said Voth, who added that he was surprised by West’s “abrupt” decision to open himself up to removal.
He said he believes that West’s statement — which notes that the DCRP “does not have a strong ally” within the Texas secretary of state office — suggests broader infighting within the Texas Republican party. For months, Republicans have been divided over the Senate primary between incumbent John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, with more conservative party members pushing for the election of the latter candidate.
West, whom Voth classifies as part of the “more conservative roster of Texas Republicans,” would likely have been expected to stick to scripture that advocates “stopping fraud through strict procedures,” such as precinct-based voting. (It is not clear that joint elections have contributed to widespread voter fraud.) A deviation from that plan, albeit a practical one, was likely to trigger backlash.
“I think there is infighting as the Texas Republicans worry that they’re going to be caught up in a larger, national midterm blue wave. Could it go as far as losing the [Texas] Senate race?” Voth said. “That, then, is part of the big primary [voting] question.”
West has served as the Dallas County GOP chairman since 2024. Before that, he served as the chairman of the state party and unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2022 gubernatorial election. He has advocated for Texas’ succession from the union and questioned the severity of COVID-19 even after being hospitalized with the virus.
In many ways, West has been a consummate modern-day Texas Republican.
Which is why Voth was “surprised” when West “decided to take on the Dallas County task” two years ago. There is not a Republican elected official in all of Dallas County (aside from Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who was elected as a Democrat in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan office), and the Texas Republican Party has never invested much in the state’s overwhelmingly blue metros.
“I think he was just a little too optimistic about what he could accomplish in Dallas,” said Voth.
During a Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, Commissioner John Wiley Price said that he believed West was being punished for making “a once-in-a-lifetime … decent decision.” Elections Administrator Paul Adams told the court that with an election date just seven weeks away, it is “going to get to a point” where West’s amended, joint election contract cannot be reneged by West’s successor.
