The Republican Party of Texas

A Political History

Wayne Thorburn

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Hardback

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English

University of Texas Press
01 June 2021

History of the Americas; Political parties; Regional government; Local history

On July 4, 1867, a group of men assembled in Houston to establish the Republican Party of Texas. Combatting entrenched statewide support for the Democratic Party and their own internal divisions, Republicans struggled to gain a foothold in the Lone Star State, which had sided with the Confederacy and aligned with the Democratic platform. In The Republican Party of Texas, Wayne Thorburn, former executive director of the Texas GOP, chronicles over one hundred and fifty years of the defeats and victories of the party that became the dominant political force in Texas in the modern era.

Thorburn documents the organizational structure of the Texas GOP, drawing attention to prominent names, such as Harry Wurzbach and George W. Bush, alongside lesser-known community leaders who bolstered local support. The 1960s and 1970s proved a watershed era for Texas Republicans as they shored up ideological divides and elected the first Republican governor and more state senators and congressional representatives than ever before. From decisions about candidates and shifting allegiances and political stances, to race-based divisions and strategic cooperation with leaders in the Democratic Party, Thorburn unearths the development of the GOP in Texas to understand the unique Texan conservatism that prevails today.

By: Wayne Thorburn
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 43mm
Weight: 794g
ISBN: 9781477322512
ISBN 10: 1477322515
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 01 June 2021
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Wayne Thorburn is a former executive director of the Republican Party of Texas and the author of Red State: An Insider’s Story of How the GOP Came to Dominate Texas Politics and A Generation Awakes: Young Americans for Freedom and the Creation of the Conservative Movement.

Reviews for The Republican Party of Texas: A Political History

Students of American politics will find Thorburn's history valuable. * Kirkus * [A] granular blow-by-blow account...Political historians will appreciate the fine-grained details. * Publishers Weekly * In presenting a long timeline with pivotal turning points, [Thorburn] offers a panoramic view of Lone Star politics...Thorburn aims for a deeply-researched take on how Republicans were for a long time the underdogs, striving for a definitive 'two-party' state until they gained dominance. * Sightlines * Thorburn's book is most useful as a tightly organized, semi-official record of the party's growth in Texas, written with apparent evenhandedness by a major participant in the state GOP. More significantly for non-Texans, it's useful as a stimulus to reflection on the nature of partisan dominance and its potential decay or reversal. * Law & Liberty * Thorburn provides a well-written, well-organized portrait of the origins, evolution, and political dominance of the GOP in Texas...Although not ignoring the major figures well known by the public, Thorburn's work reminds readers of the importance of those who worked at the city and county level to ensure both voter turnout and the day-to-day operations needed to secure state-wide electoral victories. Thorburn's history provides a model for those who wish to understand Texas politics and why the phrase 'Sold South' now best describes the Republican Party's dominance of the region...Highly recommended. * CHOICE * This is an enthusiast's history...But it is also a soberly conducted and extensively researched scholarly work that should interest students of Texas political history and also of southern Republicanism...Thorburn's history is largely one of party officials, activists, candidates, and officeholders...This approach makes the book a wonderful resource for who did what when. * Journal of Southern History *