New Dallas County GOP chair vows to rebuild party despite Democratic stronghold

As the newly elected Dallas County GOP chair, Monty Montanez said he’s focused on engaging with voters and trying to restore the Republican Party’s weight in a county that has been solidly blue for two decades. 

He’s less interested in talking about turmoil that came before him after the party’s demand for precinct-based voting on the March 3 primary day. That shift from the vote-anywhere system ended with thousands of confused Republicans and Democrats showing up to wrong locations. And it led to the resignation of then-chair Allen West, who restored countywide voting for the runoff to avoid repeat chaos but drew ire from much of his party.

Montanez declined to say whether as chair he will push for precinct-based voting in the 2028 primary, because the party’s plan “is still being put together.”

But after being elected by Republican precinct chairs June 25 to serve West’s abandoned two-year term, Montanez, 46, has laid out a goal of boosting the party’s reputation as his long game. He said he’s looking to move the party past recent dysfunction by rebuilding the GOP’s grassroots base, finances, candidate pool and election turnout — an uphill battle in a county where Democrats dependably win elections.

“My goal is to build a stronger, more united party that supports our volunteers, earns the trust of our community and works every day to elect Republicans,” Montanez said.

He started his tenure by touring the Dallas County elections department and meeting with Elections Administrator Paul Adams, whom Montanez said he has “complete confidence in.” West, who became chair in 2024, repeatedly questioned the integrity of Dallas County’s voting machines and pushed unproven allegations of election fraud. 

Montanez said he doesn’t share the same concerns about Dallas County’s voting equipment or countywide voting system, though he prefers precincts and hand-marked paper ballots. 

“Being there and walking through and asking all the questions and listening to everyone, I felt completely comfortable that our elections are secure,” he said.

He’s also looking to shore up the party’s finances, and was surprised to learn the county Republican Party did not have a formal budget. Montanez, a former Air Force staff sergeant and international business executive, said he created one his first week on the job.

Montanez said the party has about a month’s worth of cash on hand for operating, a position he said he’s already trying to change through aggressive fundraising.

From January through June, the Republican Party raised about $53,000 after accounting for refunds, according to Montanez. In comparison, within his first two weeks as chair, he said he helped secure $28,500 in contributions, though public disclosures for that period are not yet available.

“The ideas themselves are not new or novel, but he’s a good leader and he has the intelligence and the potential to achieve that,” said Republican precinct chair Matt Patrick.

Kardal Coleman, chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, said he doesn’t see Republicans gaining ground. In this year’s primary, Democratic voters made up 73% of all ballots cast. 

County Democrats have raised $250,000 so far this year, Coleman said. He said they are aiming to hit $2 million for 2026 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dallas County flipping blue. 

“We’re focused on growing our majority by continuing to deliver on the issues that matter most to Texans, like creating good-paying jobs, lowering costs, expanding access to affordable health care, strengthening public education and protecting fundamental freedoms,” Coleman said.

After West’s resignation in April, the party’s executive committee elected Tami Brown-Rodriguez from four other candidates, including Montanez, to complete the final six weeks of West’s first term. On June 25, Montanez beat Brown-Rodriguez in an executive committee vote to serve the second two-year term West had been re-elected to in March.

It makes Montanez the ninth county GOP chair in 10 years, while the Dallas County Democratic Party has had three in that time. Montanez said he’s now an independent investor with flexibility to commit to the chair role full time and that his plan to grow the county GOP’s influence may take more than one election cycle to pull off.

Montanez moved to Dallas County from Florida in 2025 but grew up in central Texas, the son and grandson of U.S. military veterans. He ran for the 32nd Congressional district this year but lost the March Republican primary.

With Puerto Rican roots, Montanez is the first Latino chair of the Dallas County Republican Party. He said he sees an opportunity to attract more Latino voters in Dallas County to the GOP through the party’s focus on family values and faith.

At a time when President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has fractured communities, Montanez said there are shared priorities among minority groups he aims to connect on, like pro-life values, public safety issues and quality of life. And the party is planning regular outreach events to spread their message.

“These underrepresented and underserviced communities – both Black, brown, and other – they have the same concerns as everyone else in North, South, East, or West Dallas County,” Montanez said. “Unfortunately, the party here in Dallas County hasn’t had that conversation with them in an authentic way in a very long time … I aim to do that.”

Montanez has a tough road ahead.

In the March primary, not a single Republican ran for more than two dozen judicial seats up for grabs. He said he’s aiming to inspire quality, conservative candidates to step up.

If candidates “know that there’s someone here in this office that shares those values, that believes in them and a shared common cause, they’ll get behind it,” Montanez said. “Now, if they come here and they see a mess, dysfunction, disunity. Well, why would they?”