Overview

• Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a joint motion with the Republican Party of Texas asking a federal court to let the party limit its primary to registered Republicans and to enter a consent decree ending open GOP primaries.
• The motion targets provisions of the Texas Election Code that allow Democrats and unaffiliated voters to participate in Republican primaries, arguing those provisions violate the party’s associational rights.
• Secretary of State Jane Nelson, the defendant in the suit, has retained the Underwood Law Firm and Clement & Murphy, signaled opposition to Paxton’s request, and said preparations for the March 3, 2026 primary continue under current law.
• The case is in federal court in Amarillo, where Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk would decide a proposed order declaring the open‑primary provisions unconstitutional to the extent they interfere with the Texas GOP’s rights.
• Paxton, who is running in the 2026 Republican U.S. Senate primary against Sen. John Cornyn, notified Nelson’s office less than an hour before siding against it, as the secretary’s lawyer wrote, and experts warn that implementing party registration statewide would be infeasible within months.