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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 159
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WHEREAS, Proud members of the Republican Party of Texas are |
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celebrating the organization's 150th anniversary in 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, The Republican Party of Texas was founded at the |
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Harris County Courthouse on the Fourth of July, 1867, 13 years |
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after the national party was established and 7 years after the |
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election of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln; |
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former governor Elisha M. Pease served as chair of that initial |
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state convention, and Colonel John L. Haynes, commander of the |
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United States Army's First Texas Cavalry, became the executive |
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committee chair; the party's membership in its early years was |
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largely made up of former slaves, German American immigrants, and |
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Texans who had opposed secession during the Civil War; and |
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WHEREAS, Notable early Texas Republicans included Edmund |
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J. Davis, the state's first Republican governor, Morgan C. Hamilton, |
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a Republican senator, George T. Ruby, an African American state |
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senator from Galveston, and Norris Wright Cuney, a prominent |
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African American leader and a member of the Republican National |
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Committee from 1886 to 1896; and |
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WHEREAS, The party gained strength in the Lone Star State |
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in the 20th century when Dwight Eisenhower carried Texas in the |
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1952 presidential election, and its fortunes were boosted again |
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in 1961 when John Tower was elected to replace Lyndon Johnson in |
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the United States Senate; a new era began in 1978, when William P. |
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Clements took office as the first Republican governor since |
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Reconstruction, and from the 1980s to the present, Texas has been |
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represented in the United States Congress by a series of |
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accomplished Republican leaders, including Senators Phil Gramm, |
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Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Cornyn, and Ted Cruz, as well as |
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numerous members of the United States House of Representatives; |
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Republicans have taken on an increasingly prominent role in state |
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and local government as well; the party has held the governor's |
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office since 1994, with George W. Bush, Rick Perry, and Greg |
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Abbott serving as chief executive, and Republicans have swept the |
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other statewide offices in five consecutive elections and have |
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held a majority in the Texas Senate since 1997 and in the Texas |
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House of Representatives since 2003; and |
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WHEREAS, Thanks to the tireless service and exemplary |
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leadership of countless men and women, the Republican Party |
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continues to carry forth its core goals, including limited |
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government, political and economic freedom, and strong national |
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security, and its members may indeed take great pride in their |
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invaluable contributions to our state and nation; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commemorate the |
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sesquicentennial of the Republican Party of Texas; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
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the Republican Party of Texas as an expression of high regard |
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from the Texas Senate. |
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Bettencourt |
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Burton |
Huffines |
Schwertner |
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Creighton |
Hughes |
Taylor of Collin |
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Estes |
Kolkhorst |
Taylor of Galveston |
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Patrick, President of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on August 15, 2017. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |