More on the battle over control of the Harris County Republican Party

This pick up from a story below on local party organization.

- Click here for the story.

Previously, Republicans had "something of a luxury in that their opponent was not especially well organized," said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

That has changed in a big way with the arrival last year of Battleground Texas, a Democratic campaign that has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars identifying and communicating directly with persuadable voters, particularly in the Houston area.

"For Republicans there's a concern, I think, that if they don't get their ground game into high gear, then they risk losing the county altogether," Jones said.

Simpson and his supporters paint the race as a battle over management style, accusing Woodfill of weak fundraising and outreach at a time when the county is growing and diversifying - and, by many measures, becoming more Democratic. They also have suggested that Woodfill has focused too much on divisive social issues, such as same-sex marriage.

At a Houston Chronicle editorial board meeting last month, Emmett complained that the local party is "driving young people away," that hundreds of Republican precinct chair positions are vacant and at least 80 percent of the party's money comes from its own candidates.

"The party is supposed to be supporting candidates," he said. "Right now, the party is living off a few candidates that can raise money. I look at it and I say, 'Look, we need a county party that understands it's about winning elections, it's not about giving speeches.' "

Republican political consultant Jim McGrath said "a lot of people have been looking for a viable alternative to Jared just because he's not getting the job done, and we need to hold him accountable for a lack of results."

The race for the chair of the Harris County Republican Party

The HCRP is the largest local Republican Party in the United States, and the person who has been the party chair - Jared Woodfill for several years is facing a challenger.

A couple conservative bloggers discuss the reasons why a change might be in order:

Texpatriate:

Jared Woodfill, for lack of a better term, has had a rocky and controversial last few months at the helm of the largest victorious County GOP in the country. First, Woodfill made national news (c/oThe Huffington Post) following his office rejecting a candidate for a vacant Precinct Chairmanship on account of the applicant’s sexual orientation. Chris Busby, who applied for the post, was an openly gay man who was also the Vice President of the Houston area Log Cabin Republicans.

Second, Woodfill has made a point of advocating for ideological purity within the party. After State Representative Sarah Davis — a moderate Republican who represents a very moderate constituency– went on the offensive against the omnibus anti-abortion bill, Woodfillpublicly blasted her, saying she “chose to attack our party platform.” This issue is of special significance, because Davis has drawn a fiercely conservative primary challenger –Bonnie Parker– in response to her moderate tone on the abortion issue. In a sign of interesting alignments, I have seen a plethora of homes in my neighborhood (Meyerland) with Sarah Davis and Paul Simpson signs side-by-side. I would reckon this is less because of Simpson’s position on the issue (he is fervently anti-abortion), but because he is more open to dissenting opinions within the party and less obsessed with the aforementioned ideological purity.

Last, but certainly not least, is Woodfill’s bizarre obsession with gay issues. In a time of ballooning debt, falling Presidential approval ratings and an unholy trainwreck that is Obamacare, Woodfill decided to focus this past month on fighting gay rights as the most important political priority of the time. In December, Woodfill sued the City of Houston in an effort to block them from doling out spousal benefits to same-sex couples. Irrespective of one’s opinion on this matter, it is a forgone conclusion at this point that this is a losing strategy. Nationwide acceptance of the LGBT community and same-sex marriage will be here in just a few short years, mark my words.

Rhymes with Right thinks Woodfill has done a poor job organizing the local party in addition to making it more inclusive:

In recent years the party has been controlled by a social conservative faction that has recently been loathe to include anyone who is not purer than Ivory Soap in terms of their support for every jot and tittle of the Texas GOP platform. It would appear that this is a significant factor in Judge Emmett's decision to throw his support behind Paul Simpson's candidacy -- the willingness of Jared Woodfill and those who back him to leave precinct chair positions vacant rather than fill those slots with someone who Ronald Reagan would have defined as friends and allies rather than traitors to the Republican cause. Judge Emmett openly expressed his concern that men like Reagan and Barry Goldwater, a pair who were once the gold standard for what it meant to be a Republican and a conservative, would no longer be considered acceptable candidates for office (even to be precinct chairs) by the current leadership in Harris County.