Tina Renee Johns Benkiser (born February 7, 1963) is an attorney and was from 2003 to 2009 the state

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for governo ...

. She became chairman on the resignation of

Susan Weddington Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

Career

Benkiser was elected to full two-year terms in 2004, 2006, and again on June 14, 2008.

Robin Armstrong Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

, an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

from Dickinson was the party vice chairman in the latter portion of Benkiser's term. He was elected to his second full term in 2008. State law requires that the chairman and vice chairman of political parties be of opposite sexes. When Steve Munisteri was elected to succeed Cathie Adams as chairman, Melinda Fredricks of Conroe succeeded Armstrong as vice chairman. Under Benkiser's leadership, the Texas party won all twenty-nine statewide offices and maintained its majority in the

Texas State Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful arm ...

. Republicans have had a net loss of seats in the Texas House under Benkiser though, after peaking in 2003, and lost two formerly Republican seats in the U.S. Congress with the resignation of

Tom DeLay Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republic ...

and the defeat of

Henry Bonilla Henry Bonilla (born January 2, 1954) is a former congressman who represented Texas's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by Ciro Rodriguez, a former Democratic mem ...

in 2006. In 2008, however, the Republican Party of Texas regained the DeLay seat with the election of

Pete Olson Peter Graham Olson (born December 9, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2021. His district included much of southern Houston, as well as most of the city's southwestern suburbs such as Katy, ...

, and also made gains in down-ballot races, achieving for the first time an absolute majority of elected offices in the state, from constable to governor, despite a disappointing year for Republicans nationwide. Benkiser resigned as chairman on October 5, 2009, to join the successful reelection campaign of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

. Under party rules, the chairman must remain neutral in

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

campaigns. Perry defeated challenges from

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republi ...

and

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

activist Debra Medina in the Republican primary held on March 2, 2010. Benkiser was succeeded by Cathie Adams of Plano, a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

activist and the Texas Republican national committeewoman. Adams was succeeded in the post in the state convention held on June 12, 2010, by Steve Munisteri of Houston, who thirty years earlier founded the Young Conservatives of Texas. In 2009, Benkiser was a candidate for co-chairman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

with former Ohio Secretary of State

Ken Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948) is an American politician, author, and conservative activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio (1979–80), the Ohio State Treasurer (1994–99), and Ohio Secretary of State (1999–2007). ...

, who ran for chairman. RNC members, however, chose

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...

, a former

lieutenant governor of Maryland The lieutenant governor of Maryland is the second highest-ranking official in the executive branch of the Government of Maryland, state government of Maryland in the United States. The officeholder is elected on the same ticket as the governor of ...

, as the national party chairman, who was unseated by

Reince Priebus Reinhold Richard Priebus ( ; born March 18, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who served as White House Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump from January 20, 2017, until July 31, 2017. He also served as the chairman of the Republ ...

early in 2011.

Personal life

Benkiser graduated from the

Mississippi University for Women Mississippi University for Women (MUW or "The W") is a coeducational public university in Columbus, Mississippi. It was formerly named the Industrial Institute and College for the Education of White Girls and later the Mississippi State College ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

in eastern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. Her husband is Eric Benkiser; the couple resides in Signal Mountain,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Her law practice is in the fields of corporate transactions, business formation and operations, intellectual property, and sports and entertainment law. While in Houston, the Benkisers were active members of Second Baptist Church.

References

External links

Tina J. Benkiser's Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benkiser, Tina 1963 births Living people Texas Republicans Texas Republican state chairmen Texas lawyers Politicians from Houston Women in Texas politics American women lawyers People from Signal Mountain, Tennessee Baptists from Texas Mississippi University for Women alumni Baptists from Tennessee 2020 United States presidential electors 21st-century American women