Steve Munisteri
Encyclopedia
Stephen Peter Munisteri is a retired attorney from Houston
, Texas
, who was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Texas
at the state convention held in Dallas
on June 13, 2010. He unseated the incumbent Cathie L. Adams
, the wife of a Dallas chiropractor
, who had held the position for only eight months. He is the first challenger in modern Texas Republican history to defeat a sitting incumbent for the position of State Chairman. Early in his political career, Munisteri served as State Chairman of the Texas Chapter of Young Americans for Freedom
(YAF), and founded the Young Conservatives of Texas
(YCT) in 1980.
in Houston and still performs such work on a contract basis. Munisteri has three brothers and two sisters. He graduated from Memorial High School
in the Hedwig Village
section of Houston, where he was in the National Honor Society
and the debate team. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration
degree from the University of Texas at Austin
and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the UT Law School, completing both degrees in five, instead of seven, years. With his law degree in hand, Munisteri returned to Houston to open his solo law practice, which he continued in partnership with others, for twenty-seven years. Munisteri founded the firm on November 1, 1982, the day before the defeat of Bill Clements
as the first Republican governor of Texas since 1873. The firm is now known as Sprott, Rigby, Newson, Robbins & Lunceford, P.C.
Munisteri is divorced from the former Deanna Armstrong, whom he met through the University of Texas during the unsuccessful 1976 Ronald W. Reagan presidential campaign. They rode together on a bus from Austin
to Kansas City
, Missouri
, to attend the Republican National Convention
at the Kemper Arena
, which nominated U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., and then U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas
for vice president
. Munisteri is a Presbyterian. The couple had no children.
Munisteri is also a boxing
promoter in Houston. Munisteri Sports & Entertainment, Inc., teamed with Worldwide Entertainment & Sports Corp. of West Orange
, New Jersey
, to oversee seven heavyweight boxers under Munisteri's direction. The boxers were Obed Sullivan
, Derrick Banks, Talmadge Griffis, David Bostice
, Ed Wright, Robert Davis, and Ike Ibeabuchi
. However, the joint arrangement failed, and Munisteri is retiring from the boxing business. He still manages one fighter and handles announcing and color commentary for boxing shows.
and John Tower
in 1972, and then forming a conservative club at Memorial High School
in Houston
. In 1976, Munisteri was elected State Vice Chairman for Texas Young Americans for Freedom
, was an active volunteer for Ronald Reagan
and attended the Republican National Convention
. From 1977 to 1980, he served as State Chairman for YAF and was also elected to YAF's national board of directors. Under Munisteri's chairmanship, YAF began the practice of issuing legislative rankings for members of the Texas House of Representatives
.
In 1980, after experiencing dissatisfaction with the top-down leadership of the national YAF organization at its February 1980 convention, Munisteri proposed a new Texas-based conservative organization to the Texas YAF board. The board voted unanimously to create a new organization named Young Conservatives of Texas
. The organization was officially founded on Texas Independence Day
, March 2, 1980 at the Driskill Hotel
in Austin, Texas
. Munisteri served as the first state Chairman.
announced her resignation at the quarterly State Republican Executive Committee meeting in Austin. Under Texas law, each major party must at all times have a woman as either its chairman or vice-chairman. Since Vice-Chairman Robin Armstrong
did not relinquish his position to seek to succeed Benkiser as State Chairman, only a woman could be elected to fill the position. On October 24, 2009, the SREC elected Texas GOP National Committeewoman Cathie Adams
as Benkiser's successor by a vote of 36-25.
On January 22, 2010, Munisteri announced his candidacy for State Chairman citing a desire to make the RPT a "more effective organization" by utilizing his "strong business administrative skills". He was the second declared challenger in the race, as former SREC member Tom Mechler of Amarillo
, had announced his candidacy the previous summer.
During the campaign for State Chairman, Munisteri cited the need to reduce recurring party debt which had reached over $700,000, and used that as a factor in defeating Adams, the incumbent. Adams claimed that party finances were in order, but reports upholding her contention were not released to the Federal Elections Commission or the Texas Ethics Commission. Munisteri brought a large number of youthful supporters to the convention and overwhelmed Adams' effort to win a full two-year term as chairman. Many of these young people were members of Young Conservatives of Texas
, a conservative youth organization which Munisteri founded in 1980.
On the second day of the convention, delegates voted by senatorial district for the position of state chairman. Munisteri won 13 districts, Adams won 12 districts, and Mechler won 6 districts. Since no candidate received a majority of districts, a vote was held in the nominations committee of the convention, and Munisteri won the second ballot by a count of 22-9. After the nominations committee presented their results to the full convention, Adams then proceeded to force an unprecedented floor vote for the position, at which point Tom Mechler officially endorsed Munisteri's candidacy. Munisteri then addressed the full convention and declared that his differences with Adams are "insignificant to the duty we have to our country." He placed the reelection of Perry as top priority and then the regaining of Republican majorities in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. He added, "there's no question we have to get rid of that man in the White House
," a reference to U.S. President Barack Obama
. In the ensuing floor vote, Munisteri prevailed with a margin of 4,170 to 2,950 for Adams.
Ed Hubbard, a Harris County
delegate who supported Munisteri over Adams, said that the GOP
must be a "functioning statewide political organization focused on winning elections . . . to keep Texas in the Republican column, and keep its policies conservative." Hubbard offered three reasons for his support of Munisteri:
Upon becoming chairman, Munisteri immediately focused his sights on the pending reelection campaign of Governor
Rick Perry
, who won a third full four-year term in the general election
on November 2, 2010. Perry also served the last two years of the unexpired term of former Governor and U.S. President George W. Bush
. He defeated the 2010 challenge of the Democrat
William Henry "Bill" White, a businessman, former state party chairman, and a former mayor of Houston.
Munisteri has issued a regular "Chairman's Update" to Texas Republicans with information regarding his activities as Chairman. In December 2010, Munisteri announced that the RPT had fully retired its crippling debt and would end 2010 with zero debt, all bills paid, a record net worth, and a record positive cash balance in its accounts.
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, who was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Texas
Republican Party of Texas
The Republican Party of Texas is one of the two major political parties in the U.S. State of Texas. It is affiliated with the United States Republican Party. The State Chairman is Steve Munisteri, a retired attorney and businessman from Houston, and the Vice-Chair is Melinda Fredricks of Conroe....
at the state convention held in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
on June 13, 2010. He unseated the incumbent Cathie L. Adams
Cathie Adams
Cathie L. Adams is a homemaker from Dallas, Texas, who is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. She won the post in a special meeting of the Republican State Executive Committee held on October 24, 2009, at party headquarters in Austin...
, the wife of a Dallas chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
, who had held the position for only eight months. He is the first challenger in modern Texas Republican history to defeat a sitting incumbent for the position of State Chairman. Early in his political career, Munisteri served as State Chairman of the Texas Chapter of Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...
(YAF), and founded the Young Conservatives of Texas
Young Conservatives of Texas
Young Conservatives of Texas is a nonpartisan conservative youth organization based in Texas. YCT was founded in 1980 and now has chapters at six universities including Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas Tech University, University of Texas at Austin, and Baylor University.A total of 177...
(YCT) in 1980.
Background
Munisteri was reared in Houston, where his father was an officer of Brown and Root, later president of Enserch Engineers and Construction, Comstock International, and the Texas division of Ford, Bacon & Davis. His mother was first a homemaker but later an editor of professors' textbooks at Rice UniversityRice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
in Houston and still performs such work on a contract basis. Munisteri has three brothers and two sisters. He graduated from Memorial High School
Memorial High School (Hedwig Village, Texas)
Memorial High School is a secondary school located at 935 Echo Lane in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States.Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions...
in the Hedwig Village
Hedwig Village, Texas
Hedwig Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,334 at the 2000 census.The United States Postal Service uses "Houston" for all Hedwig Village addresses; "Hedwig Village" is not an acceptable city designation for mail addressed to places in Hedwig...
section of Houston, where he was in the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
and the debate team. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...
degree from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the UT Law School, completing both degrees in five, instead of seven, years. With his law degree in hand, Munisteri returned to Houston to open his solo law practice, which he continued in partnership with others, for twenty-seven years. Munisteri founded the firm on November 1, 1982, the day before the defeat of Bill Clements
Bill Clements
William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. was the 42nd and 44th Governor of Texas, serving from 1979 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991. Clements was the first Republican to have served as governor of the U.S. state of Texas since Reconstruction...
as the first Republican governor of Texas since 1873. The firm is now known as Sprott, Rigby, Newson, Robbins & Lunceford, P.C.
Munisteri is divorced from the former Deanna Armstrong, whom he met through the University of Texas during the unsuccessful 1976 Ronald W. Reagan presidential campaign. They rode together on a bus from Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, to attend the Republican National Convention
1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States met at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, from August 16 to August 19, 1976. The convention nominated incumbent Gerald Ford for President, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California...
at the Kemper Arena
Kemper Arena
Kemper Arena is a 19,500 seat indoor arena, in Kansas City, Missouri.It is named for R. Crosby Kemper Sr., a member of the powerful Kemper financial clan and who donated $3.2 million, from his estate for the arena...
, which nominated U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., and then U.S. Senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
for vice president
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Munisteri is a Presbyterian. The couple had no children.
Munisteri is also a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
promoter in Houston. Munisteri Sports & Entertainment, Inc., teamed with Worldwide Entertainment & Sports Corp. of West Orange
West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange is a township in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 46,207...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, to oversee seven heavyweight boxers under Munisteri's direction. The boxers were Obed Sullivan
Obed Sullivan
Obed Benjamin Sullivan, born January 17, 1968 in Gulfport, MS, was a heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Fighting Marine", Sullivan was at times a highly-ranked heavyweight who fought many significant fighters of his era....
, Derrick Banks, Talmadge Griffis, David Bostice
David Bostice
David Bostice, born April 3, 1972 in Los Angeles, CA, is a heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Boss", Bostice is known for being a regular fighter on ESPN fight cards, and is a heavyweight clubfighter who fought several significant fighters of his era....
, Ed Wright, Robert Davis, and Ike Ibeabuchi
Ike Ibeabuchi
Ikemefula "Ike" Charles Ibeabuchi is a former professional heavyweight boxer who defeated highly ranked contender David Tua and future heavyweight titlist Chris Byrd...
. However, the joint arrangement failed, and Munisteri is retiring from the boxing business. He still manages one fighter and handles announcing and color commentary for boxing shows.
Early Political Involvement
Munisteri was active in politics early in his teenage years, first working as a volunteer for the campaigns of Texas Republicans Hank GroverHenry Grover
Henry Cushing "Hank" Grover , was a conservative politician from the U.S. state of Texas best known for his relatively narrow defeat as the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1972. Grover was born in Corpus Christi. He died in Houston of Alzheimer's disease.Grover lived as a youth in San Antonio...
and John Tower
John Tower
John Goodwin Tower was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement in January 1985, after which time he was the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W...
in 1972, and then forming a conservative club at Memorial High School
Memorial High School (Hedwig Village, Texas)
Memorial High School is a secondary school located at 935 Echo Lane in Hedwig Village, Texas, United States.Memorial serves students in portions of the Memorial and Spring Branch regions of Houston and several enclaves within the portions...
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. In 1976, Munisteri was elected State Vice Chairman for Texas Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...
, was an active volunteer for Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and attended the Republican National Convention
1976 Republican National Convention
The 1976 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States met at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, from August 16 to August 19, 1976. The convention nominated incumbent Gerald Ford for President, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California...
. From 1977 to 1980, he served as State Chairman for YAF and was also elected to YAF's national board of directors. Under Munisteri's chairmanship, YAF began the practice of issuing legislative rankings for members of the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
.
In 1980, after experiencing dissatisfaction with the top-down leadership of the national YAF organization at its February 1980 convention, Munisteri proposed a new Texas-based conservative organization to the Texas YAF board. The board voted unanimously to create a new organization named Young Conservatives of Texas
Young Conservatives of Texas
Young Conservatives of Texas is a nonpartisan conservative youth organization based in Texas. YCT was founded in 1980 and now has chapters at six universities including Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas Tech University, University of Texas at Austin, and Baylor University.A total of 177...
. The organization was officially founded on Texas Independence Day
Texas Independence Day
Texas Independence Day is the celebration of the adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. With this document, settlers in Mexican Texas officially broke from Mexico, creating the Republic of Texas...
, March 2, 1980 at the Driskill Hotel
Driskill Hotel
The Driskill Hotel, a Romanesque style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel in Austin, Texas, USA, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas generally. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel...
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Munisteri served as the first state Chairman.
Texas GOP chairman
In September 2009, Texas GOP State Chairman Tina BenkiserTina Benkiser
Tina Renee Johns Benkiser is a Houston attorney who served as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2003 to 2009. She became chairman on the resignation of Susan Weddington....
announced her resignation at the quarterly State Republican Executive Committee meeting in Austin. Under Texas law, each major party must at all times have a woman as either its chairman or vice-chairman. Since Vice-Chairman Robin Armstrong
Robin Armstrong
Robin Armstrong is an African American politician and physician who served as vice chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2006-2010. Armstrong was elected at the state convention held in San Antonio on June 3, 2006, to succeed the term-limited David Barton, an historian from Aledo in...
did not relinquish his position to seek to succeed Benkiser as State Chairman, only a woman could be elected to fill the position. On October 24, 2009, the SREC elected Texas GOP National Committeewoman Cathie Adams
Cathie Adams
Cathie L. Adams is a homemaker from Dallas, Texas, who is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. She won the post in a special meeting of the Republican State Executive Committee held on October 24, 2009, at party headquarters in Austin...
as Benkiser's successor by a vote of 36-25.
On January 22, 2010, Munisteri announced his candidacy for State Chairman citing a desire to make the RPT a "more effective organization" by utilizing his "strong business administrative skills". He was the second declared challenger in the race, as former SREC member Tom Mechler of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, had announced his candidacy the previous summer.
During the campaign for State Chairman, Munisteri cited the need to reduce recurring party debt which had reached over $700,000, and used that as a factor in defeating Adams, the incumbent. Adams claimed that party finances were in order, but reports upholding her contention were not released to the Federal Elections Commission or the Texas Ethics Commission. Munisteri brought a large number of youthful supporters to the convention and overwhelmed Adams' effort to win a full two-year term as chairman. Many of these young people were members of Young Conservatives of Texas
Young Conservatives of Texas
Young Conservatives of Texas is a nonpartisan conservative youth organization based in Texas. YCT was founded in 1980 and now has chapters at six universities including Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas Tech University, University of Texas at Austin, and Baylor University.A total of 177...
, a conservative youth organization which Munisteri founded in 1980.
On the second day of the convention, delegates voted by senatorial district for the position of state chairman. Munisteri won 13 districts, Adams won 12 districts, and Mechler won 6 districts. Since no candidate received a majority of districts, a vote was held in the nominations committee of the convention, and Munisteri won the second ballot by a count of 22-9. After the nominations committee presented their results to the full convention, Adams then proceeded to force an unprecedented floor vote for the position, at which point Tom Mechler officially endorsed Munisteri's candidacy. Munisteri then addressed the full convention and declared that his differences with Adams are "insignificant to the duty we have to our country." He placed the reelection of Perry as top priority and then the regaining of Republican majorities in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. He added, "there's no question we have to get rid of that man in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
," a reference to U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. In the ensuing floor vote, Munisteri prevailed with a margin of 4,170 to 2,950 for Adams.
Ed Hubbard, a Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
delegate who supported Munisteri over Adams, said that the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
must be a "functioning statewide political organization focused on winning elections . . . to keep Texas in the Republican column, and keep its policies conservative." Hubbard offered three reasons for his support of Munisteri:
- Munisteri, he said, has "honestly confronted the actual present condition of the party organization, and has provided a plan to address it and improve it."
- He has pledged to "use his private-sector experiences to address the challenges facing the party organization."
- He "understands the need for unity within the party by conducting this campaign in a positive manner [and] has remained focused on what needs to be done to improve the effectiveness of the party, even while he has been attacked personally." Hubbard did not say what personal attacks had been involved.
Upon becoming chairman, Munisteri immediately focused his sights on the pending reelection campaign of Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
, who won a third full four-year term in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
on November 2, 2010. Perry also served the last two years of the unexpired term of former Governor and U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. He defeated the 2010 challenge of the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
William Henry "Bill" White, a businessman, former state party chairman, and a former mayor of Houston.
Munisteri has issued a regular "Chairman's Update" to Texas Republicans with information regarding his activities as Chairman. In December 2010, Munisteri announced that the RPT had fully retired its crippling debt and would end 2010 with zero debt, all bills paid, a record net worth, and a record positive cash balance in its accounts.