49 Texas GOP precinct chairs voted unsuccessfully to oust Tarrant County GOP vice chair because he's Muslim


The Republican Party in the last conservative urban county in Texas, Tarrant County, voted Thursday night not to remove trauma surgeon Shahid Shafi as vice chairman of the county GOP because he is Muslim. The GOP precinct chairs voted against ousting Shafi 139-49 after a months-long campaign by some local party members, starting soon after Shafi was appointed vice chairman in July. "As an immigrant to this great country, I am honored and privileged to receive the support of my fellow Republicans," Shafi said after the vote.
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Darl Easton said "religious liberty won tonight," and while the conclusion of "this unfortunate episode" is "great day for the Republican Party of Tarrant County, that victory also serves notice that we have much work to do unifying our party." Former Tarrant County precinct chair Sara Levgold — who is not Muslim but wore a burqa to the meeting to "represent the Islamization of our county, our state, and our country" — disagreed. She complained that Muslims in the workplace "demand they're able to wear their hijab and demand they get a prayer room," adding, "When was the last time a Christian was allowed to have a separate place to say their prayers?"
GOP leaders in Texas had condemned the push to oust Shafi, and Levgold said critics have "said nothing but horrible things about us — that we're bigots and Islamophobes and white supremacists — when we're just patriots who care for our country." Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, narrowly voted for Democrat Beto O'Rourke over Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in November and flipped several GOP Texas House and Senate seats in the area.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor
In The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders