One important way to participate in the political system through political parties is to nominate someone or run directly for one of the many party offices. On the same day as the primary, after the polls close, the parties hold their local precinct conventions. Any registered voter who voted in a party's primary may attend that party's precinct convention. After being elected to a precinct-level position, you may attend functions and conventions at the county, state, and eventually even the national level, and attempt to be elected to higher positions in the parties. County and district conventions are held on the Saturday after the March primaries; state conventions are held in June of even-numbered years. [7]

All of this organizational structure and activity may make the party bureaucracy seem critically important, but there are important limits to party officials' power. Party organizations do not exercise centralized control over nominations or campaign funding. Anybody who wants to run as a party nominee for office can do so, and candidates raise most of their own campaign funds. Lacking control over funding means that party organizations struggle to coordinate candidates' campaigns. Party officers must persuade office holders to coordinate with party objectives rather than impose policy discipline.

Parties and the officials who maintain them from election to election strive to use the tools at their disposal to organize groups and individuals, and to attempt to achieve their political and policy objectives. But the resources at their disposal, and the context in which they use these resources, make consistent success difficult to achieve.

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⁷ Lyle C. Brown, et al. Practicing Texas Politics, Eleventh Edition (2001), pp. 143-148.