Texas Democratic Party v. Benkiser

The chair of the Republican Party of Texas ("RPT") declared Representative Tom DeLay ineligible for election to the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. After the RPT declared DeLay ineligible, but before the Secretary of State removed his name from the ballot, the Texas Democratic Party ("TDP") sought an injunction to prevent the removal of his name and to prevent the RPT from replacing DeLay with a new candidate. The district court granted the injunction, holding that the RPT, through its leadership, created an unconstitutional pre-election residency requirement. We AFFIRM on the constitutional grounds enumerated by the district court and also AFFIRM on the alternative state law ground that the declaration violated the Texas Election Code.