James Dickey is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. He was chosen by the 64-member Republican State Executive Committee meeting in Austin on June 3, 2017. Under Mr. Dickey's 3-year tenure, the GOP held all statewide offices in Texas. He is also an insurance company executive from Austin, Texas.
After President Donald Trump proposed to move the 2020 Republican National Convention from North Carolina amid Coronavirus restrictions, Mr. Dickey volunteered Texas as a potential venue, saying, "Texans know how to and can safely have a big event like that as we reopen Texas." Mr. Dickey later mentioned Fort Worth, San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston as possible locations if the convention were hosted in Texas (although National Republicans ultimately decided to move the national convention to Jacksonville, Florida).
In July 2019, Mr. Dickey announced he would be running for reelection at the July 2020 state convention in Houston. He was challenged by former Congressman Allen West. Mr. Dickey was defeated in his re-election attempt by Allen West on July 20, 2020.
Mr. Dickey moved to Texas with his family when he was in elementary school and attended Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth where he graduated valedictorian of his class. Mr. Dickey then attended Stanford University, where he received bachelor's degrees in political science and English and later Baylor University, where he received a Master of Business Administration.
Mr. Dickey is a shareholder and board member of iManaging General Agency Holdings, LLC, the holding company of an insurance firm, iMGA, LLC. He has previously worked in the insurance industry for Kemper Insurance, Great American Insurance, and Republic Group. Mr. Dickey married his wife, Lynda, in 1989, and they live in Spicewood, Texas, in unincorporated Travis County, Texas in the Texas Hill Country. They have three children.