Additional background on Padgett’s role in the split, and the frivolous lawsuit launched against young conservative leaders.

From late 2018 to mid-2021, Padgett was the Chair of the Texas Young Republican Federation (TYRF). The organization repeatedly took moderate stances on legislation during session and on national issues at the time. He became National Co-Chair Chair of the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF) in 2021, and then became Chairman in 2023 at their national convention in Dallas, TX (the convention for the Texas Young Republicans took place the next day in the same hotel).  At that convention, the Texas Young Republican leadership, under current head Derrick Wilson, were expecting several key Texas YR chapters to take part and help with the convention, and approve Hayden’s coronation as national chair. This included the Dallas YR chapter, which is the 2nd or 3rd largest in the nation, which largely declined to participate, and which did not turn in its credentialing renewal and dues to the TYRF state federation by that weekend. The TYRFleaders, with Padgett’s urging and blessing, decided to ‘disassociate from the Republican Party of Texas’ that weekend because of ‘a beef with Chairman Matt Rinaldi’ and because they did not like the direction the Texas GOP was going in.

Various chapters were determined to stay with with Republican Party of Texas as a partner, so they effectively split from TYRF to form a new coalition called The Young Republicans of Texas (YRT).  Within a month or two of that 2023 convention, Hayden Padgett effectively authorized/gave his blessing to the TYRF leaders to begin suing leaders of the YRT in what had amounted to lengthy frivolous lawsuit over an alleged trademark violation that is going to be decided in the coming months in favor of the YRT. Other parts of the lawsuit against YRT leaders have already been decided in YRT’s favor in the last year.

This lawsuit would not have gone forward without Hayden Padgett’s blessing. It has resulted in intimidation and headache for YRT leaders, which is exactly what it was designed to do from the beginning. 

Unlike Hayden, these young conservative leaders are not public figures, and should not be subject to those types of public attacks launched against them by Hayden and his key allies.

You can read the lawsuit and see the court actions here:

https://courtsportal.dallascounty.org/DALLASPROD/Home/Dashboard/29

Type in Case Number: DC-2318308