08/18/2026
Yesterday WCRP "Chairman" Steve Hickey sent an email attempting to explain away the local GOP's failures during his tenure and deflect any criticism onto others.
While this came off like a coach blaming his players for getting beat while the coach took zero responsibility for bad play calling, it's fair to examine Hickey's claims of how much the WCRP did to help elect the Republican nominees in our county.
Hickey stated in his email that the WCRP:
• "provided direct contributions to candidates seeking our support in contested races"
• "funded pre-early voting mailers in every contested district"
• sent "two rounds of text message campaigns"
• "ran two rounds of ringless voicemail"
• "added door knockers to at-risk Districts 6, 8, 10, and 11"
• "responded to candidates who asked for, and appeared to need, additional support with more direct contributions"
• "prioritized additional resources in the form of a second mailer to Districts 5, 8, 10, and 11"
• paid "a second round of door knockers in District 10"
• funded "a boosted social media ad buy during the week before Election Day in Districts 3, 5, 8, 10, and 11."
While most Republican voters claim they received at least one mailer from the WCRP, the same cannot be said for the text messaging, ringless voice mail, and door knocking.
Whether any of those voter outreach activities really happened or not is a mystery.
What isn't a mystery is the WCRP's social media ad buy the last week going into the election. Meta (Facebook & Instagram's parent company) keeps a public library of ads run for political campaigns for public inspection.
In the last 90 days, the Williamson County Republican Party did not run any ads.
If the WCRP didn't run the ads on Facebook and Instagram, where did they run them? How many voters did they reach?
These are all valid questions. If Steve Hickey really wants Republicans to believe he is not primarily responsible for the election of 2 Democrats in Williamson County for the first time in two decades, then Hickey need to be fully transparent about how Republican donors money was really spent.
Using the WCRP's standard that was articulated to Republican nominees in a letter dated June 16, 2026 is a fitting standard for the Hickey to adhere to. This will hold Hickey same standard he put in place to assist (or deny assistance) to our Republican nominees.
The Hickey Standard requires "a breakdown of direct expenses" with "as much detail as you can provide - invoice copies or receipt, or a detailed list."
As President Reagan famously said when dealing with the Soviet Union, "trust but verify." If Steve Hickey wants Republicans in Williamson County to trust him, then he needs to be fully transparent so his claims can be verified.
