Matt Mackowiak, who has served as chair of the Travis County Republican Party since 2017, has announced he is stepping down from that post immediately. In a news release, Mackowiak said, “There is a season for everything, and this past weekend my wife Amy and I decided that our most important goals are starting a family and creating financial security. These wonderful opportunities deserve my complete focus and so as we begin a new year, I believe it is a good time for a transition to new leadership at TCRP.” He said the county party raised and spent $250,000 in the 2024 calendar year.
Last spring, Mackowiak threw his hat in the ring to lead the Texas Republican Party, but lost to Abraham George, the right-wing former chair of the Collin County GOP. In fact, Mackowiak endorsed all the other candidates in the race, while specifically naming George as the one person he did not want to see elected. George won that election.
In addition to being TCRP chair, Mackowiak successfully worked to reinstate Austin’s camping ban as co-chair of Save Austin Now. He told the Austin Monitor he would continue as co-chair and noted that his co-chair is Steven Brown, a Democrat. The organization is currently involved in a lawsuit over the city’s enforcement of that ban. The group was not successful in a 2021 attempt to increase the ranks of Austin’s police department.