Matt Rinaldi
Chair of the Texas Republican Party
Assumed office
July 11, 2021
Preceded byAllen West
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 115th district
In office
January 13, 2015 – January 8, 2019
Preceded byBennett Ratliff
Succeeded byJulie Johnson
Personal details
Born
Matthew Daniel Rinaldi

(1975-04-11) April 11, 1975
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCorley Rinaldi
EducationJames Madison University (BA)
Boston University (JD)

Matthew Daniel Rinaldi (born April 11, 1975) is an American attorney and politician serving as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. Rinaldi was a member of the Texas House of Representatives for district 115 in Dallas County from 2015 to 2019 when he was defeated by Democrat Julie Johnson.[1]

Early life and education

Rinaldi was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, at which he drew national attention for his successful effort to have the Pledge of Allegiance recited prior to meetings of the student government association.[2] He graduated in 2001 with a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law.[3]

Professional career

After law school, Rinaldi became a litigation associate with the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Rinaldi spent the next two decades working at different law firms but never made partner and never worked at any law firm for more than five years.[4] After working at various Dallas law firm, Rinaldi worked part time with various gigs until he began to work for a billionaire political donor.[5]

Political career

Texas House of Representatives

2012 and 2014 Texas primaries

In 2012, Rinaldi placed third of five candidates in the Republican primary election for the 115th district of the Texas House of Representatives; the seat was open following the retirement of veteran legislator Jim Jackson.[6] Of the top two vote-getters, Bennett Ratliff would win the Republican nomination in a run-off over Steve Nguyen, then go on to win the seat in November 2012.

On March 4, 2014, Rinaldi challenged incumbent Ratliff in the Texas Republican primary for the seat again, this time successfully; Rinaldi earned 4,167 votes (50.6 percent) to Ratliff's 4,075 votes (49.4 percent).[7]

84th legislative session and 2016 Texas primary

During the Eighty-fourth Texas Legislature, Rinaldi was appointed to the Agriculture & Livestock committee and the Business & Industry committee. He joint- and co-authored successful pieces of legislation that were signed into law, including: HB 11[8] (authorizing additional troopers for border security and strengthening smuggling laws), and HB 283[9] (increasing government transparency by requiring certain governmental bodies to make audio and video recordings of open meetings available online).

Rinaldi filed bills intended to eliminate or minimize the effects of the Robin Hood plan on Texas public school districts with HB 945 [10] and HB 1411.[11]

Rinaldi co-authored legislation that would repeal in-state tuition and end welfare benefits for undocumented immigrants[12] as well as penalize businesses that knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.[13][14]

Rinaldi was rated the most conservative member of the Texas House by a Rice University study that "[drew] on the 1,138 non-lopsided roll call votes taken during the 2015 regular session."[15]

In the Republican primary held on March 1, 2016, Rinaldi and Ratliff would face off a third time,[16] as Ratliff vied unsuccessfully to win back the House District 115 seat. Rinaldi earned 8,804 votes (53.45 percent) to Ratliff's 7,668 votes (46.55 percent). [17] In the November 8 general election of that year, Rinaldi narrowly held on to the House seat, earning 29,987 votes (50.9 percent) over Democrat Dorotha M. Ocker's 28,939 (49.1 percent). [18]

85th legislative session

During the Eighty-fifth Texas Legislature, Rinaldi was appointed to the Agriculture & Livestock committee and the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence committee.

Rinaldi was, according to the Dallas Morning News, "instrumental in strengthening the punishments in the sanctuary cities ban,"[19] and authored and passed into law measures that: remove from office public officials who adopt sanctuary city policies,[20] require government contractors and subcontractors to use e-verify,[21] revoke pensions of teachers convicted of committing sex crimes against students,[22][23][24] allow churches to utilize volunteers to provide security services without risking heavy fines,[25] and prohibit any taxpayer money from going to Planned Parenthood.[26] He also re-introduced legislation he had previously proposed to end the Robin Hood school finance system.[27]

In May 2017, Rinaldi called Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers on protesters inside the Capitol building. Rinaldi claimed that he called ICE after seeing individuals holding protest signs indicating they were illegal immigrants.[28] An altercation ensued; according to multiple Hispanic Democratic lawmakers, Rinaldi got into their faces during the dispute and cursed at them. Video shot from the House floor showed both Republicans and Democrats pushing each other. Rinaldi claimed that Representative Poncho Nevárez threatened his life during the incident, which Nevárez denied. Democratic lawmaker Justin Rodriguez claimed that Rinaldi threatened to "put a bullet in one of my colleagues’ heads"; Rinaldi did not deny making the statement, but claimed it was made in self-defense.[29] Rinaldi's actions were widely seen as having a racial motivation.[30] After the incident, state representative Ramon Romero Jr. said Rinaldi had "racially profiled every single person that was in the gallery today."[29]

During Rinaldi's second term, he remained ranked as the most conservative legislator (tied with Briscoe Cain and Jonathan Stickland) in Austin according to a Rice University's study roll-call vote analysis drawing on 1,460 non-lopsided roll-call votes taken during the 2017 regular session.[31] He was also named one of the Top 10 Legislators by the conservative advocacy group Empower Texans,[32] as well as one of the Top 10 Worst Legislators by Texas Monthly.[33] His voting record earned a 100 score from conservative advocacy group Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.[34]

2018 campaign

Rinaldi lost his state House seat in 2018. Rinaldi was unseated by Democrat Julie Johnson, whose campaign included volunteers that had been part of the ICE altercation at the Capitol in May 2017.[35] Rinaldi earned 24,512 votes (43.21 percent) to Johnson's 32,214 votes (56.79 percent), the lowest vote percentage of any House incumbent in Dallas County that year.[36]

Republican Party of Texas

Rinaldi was elected Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas on July 11, 2021, to replace outgoing chair, former Congressman Allen West.[37][38] In his first weeks as Chairman, Rinaldi had established a reputation of being more collegial than West had been,[39] but also signaled an intent to challenge statewide Republican officials including Governor Greg Abbott.[40] As state GOP chair, Rinaldi has come under fire from within the party for directly attacking elected Texas Republicans who are perceived by the grassroots faction within the state organization as not conservative enough.[41]

Personal life

He and his wife Corley, married since 2010, attend St. Ann Catholic Parish Roman Catholic Church in Coppell.[3]

Election history

2018
Texas General Election, 2018: State Representative District 115[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Julie Johnson 32,214 56.8
Republican Matt Rinaldi 24,512 43.2
Democratic gain from Republican
2016
Texas General Election, 2016: State Representative District 115[43]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matt Rinaldi 29,987 50.9
Democratic Dorotha Ocker 28,939 49.1
Republican hold
2014
Texas General Election, 2014: State Representative District 115[44]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Matt Rinaldi 16,999 57.1
Democratic Paul K. Stafford 11,767 39.5
Libertarian Kim Kelley 999 3.4
Republican hold

References

  1. ↑ "Matt Rinaldi". Texas Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ Strauss, Valerie (October 27, 1994). "Battle over Pledge of Allegiance Cleaves a Campus". Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "About Matt Rinaldi". mattrinaldi.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/matt-rinaldi-texas-gop/
  5. ↑ https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/matt-rinaldi-texas-gop/
  6. ↑ "Jim Jackson, fixture in Dallas County politics, to retire, July 13, 2011". July 13, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Republican runoff primary returns (House District 115), March 4, 2014". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for HB 11". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for HB 283". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for HB 945". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for HB 1411". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for HB 306". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for HB 183". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 84(R) History for SB 374". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  15. ↑ Jones, Mark P. (July 7, 2015). "The 2015 Texas House, from left to right". TribTalk. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  16. ↑ Smith, Morgan (February 12, 2016). "Old Rivals Face Off in Dallas House Race". Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Republican primary returns (House District 115), March 1, 2016". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Joe Straus confident he'll continue as House Speaker". Dallas News. September 23, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for SB 4". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for SB 312". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for SB 7". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for HB 2289". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Bill cracking down on sexual and other improper student-teacher relationships passes House". Dallas News. May 8, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for HB 421". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for SB 8". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Texas Legislature Online - 85(R) History for HB 286". www.capitol.state.tx.us. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Reversal: ICE confirms fielding call about SB 4 protesters". May 31, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  29. 1 2 "Republican lawmaker: I called immigration authorities on Capitol protesters". The Texas Tribune. May 29, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  30. ↑ Garcia, Michelle (September 7, 2019). "In Texas, a call to action against white supremacy". CNN. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
  31. ↑ "The 2017 Texas House, from left to right, by Mark P. Jones". TribTalk. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Best and Worst Legislators of 2017 - Empower Texans". Empower Texans. May 28, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  33. ↑ "2017: The Best and Worst Legislators". Texas Monthly. June 20, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Matt Rinaldi". index.empowertexans.com. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  35. ↑ Bova, Gus (November 7, 2018). "Say Adiós to Matt Rinaldi, the Texas Lawmaker Who Called ICE to Report Latino Protesters". Retrieved January 28, 2020. A Dallas-area attorney, Johnson ran a campaign that included volunteers that Rinaldi actually called ICE on at the Texas Capitol during a pro-immigrant protest last May.
  36. ↑ "Race Summary Report, 2018 General Election, 11/6/2018". Texas Office of the Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  37. ↑ Waltens, Brandon. Matt Rinaldi Elected New Chair of Texas GOP, Texas Scorecard, July 11, 2021.
  38. ↑ Greenwood, Max (July 12, 2021). "Texas GOP picks another Abbott critic to lead state party". The Hill. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  39. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (August 27, 2021). "New Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi winning over critics of Allen West's tumultuous era". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  40. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (July 9, 2021). "New Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi Is Likely to Keep the Heat on Greg Abbott and Other Republicans". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  41. ↑ "Texas GOP launches radio attack ads against Republican state House speaker". The Texas Tribune. January 20, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  42. ↑ "2016 General Election". Dallas County Elections. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  43. ↑ "2016 General Election". Dallas County Elections. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  44. ↑ "2014 General Election". Dallas County Elections. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
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