On Saturday, the Texas Republican Party voted to censure Rep. Tony Gonzales was censured by the Texas Republican Party on Saturday for separating from his GOP colleagues.
The 64-member State Republican Executive Committee voted to censure at its quarterly meeting in Austin. One abstention was recorded.
In a statement, the Texas GOP stated that it will impose the “full set penalty allowed by the rules for failure to fidelity to Republican principles or priorities.”
The state party stated that Rule 44 of Texas Republican Party allows it to censure elected officials who have violated Texas Republican Party priorities and principles three times or more during a given biennium.
To pass the resolution, it required a three fifths vote. It stated that Gonzales, a moderate Republican voted for the Bipartisan Safer Community Act , landmark gun legislation, that was created in response to shootings at Uvalde (which is in Gonzales’ District) and Buffalo, New York.
Gonzales was one 14 House Republicans that voted with Democrats for the package. President Joe Biden signed it into law last year.
It was also noted that Gonzales voted in favor of legislation protecting same-sex marriage and that he was the only Republican to vote against House rules package.
According to the Republicans, Gonzales, whose district includes a large portion of the Texas-Mexico border has not supported the Border Safety and Security Act of 20023. This bill would have allowed the Department of Homeland Security, which allows it to refuse entry to non-U.S. citizens without valid documents.
NBC News reached out to Gonzales’ campaign in order to obtain comment.
Penalties include the state party ignoring rules and bylaws that require its neutrality in primary contests, and declaring Gonzales unqualified from taking part in the next GOP primary.
But party rules don’t allow him to be removed from office, and they can’t prevent him running for re-election in his capacity as a Republican.
According to the state party, the original censure resolution was passed by Medina County Republicans in Feb. It was also supported by more than 12 other counties in Gonzales’ District.
Gonzales was a two-term lawmaker who was elected to the office in 2020. He succeeded moderate Republican Will Hurd who didn’t seek re-election.
Rebecca Shabad contributed.
