The Texas Republican Party approved Monday to hold a virtual convention this year after losing its legal battle in the state Supreme Court earlier that day.
The state Republican Party Executive Committee voted 53 to 4 to consider moving the state convention online, as Texas has become an American hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic, The Texas Tribune reported.
The vote follows attempts by the party to obtain legal approval to host the event for approximately 6,000 people in Houston after the city canceled it. The convention was scheduled to begin Thursday at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
The all-Republican Texas Supreme Court denied an appeal by the state Republican Party in a 7-to-1 ruling Monday and also dismissed another appeal from party officials and conservative Houston activist Steve Hotze.
The state Republican Party argued that its in-person convention should be protected by the constitutions of Texas and the United States. But the judges decided that “those rights do not allow him to simply use the Center,” according to the newspaper.
A Harris County District Court judge also ruled Monday that the party was unable to hold the event after the cancellation amid the pandemic.
Houston First Corp., which runs the convention center, informed the party in a letter last week that it was backing out of the event, citing the contract that allowed either party to cancel an event if an event “is beyond control. reasonable of the event. a party whose performance is affected, “including” epidemics in the city of Houston, “according to the Tribune.
The Texas Republican Party responded to the letter saying it would sue Houston’s mayor, Houston First Corp., and the city.
The Texas attorney general’s office was also asked to review the conflict and filed a report saying that state Supreme Court justices should dismiss the Republican Party’s requests.
“Despite their disturbing factual allegations, the petitions do not adequately invoke the authority of this Court’s mandamus, and should be rejected on that narrow basis,” Attorney General Kyle Hawkins wrote.
Texas has struggled in recent weeks to contain an increase in coronavirus cases in the state. The state has recorded a total of 264,313 positive cases, leading to 3,235 deaths, most of which are in Harris County, where Houston is located, and Dallas County.
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