Amid the raging coronavirus pandemic occurring in Texas and particularly in Houston, the Texas Republican Party were planning to hold the Texas Republican Party convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center from the 16th to the 18th of this month. But after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) cancelled the upcoming Texas GOP Convention due to obvious reasons, the Texas Republican Party and Steven Hotze have both filed lawsuits against the mayor, citing a “breach of contract.” Both the Texas Republican Party and Steven Hotze requested for a restraining order against the City of Houston in order to prevent the city from withholding the event for the sake of COVID-19. The parties have cited that they should hold the rallies since they believe that they have the same “constitutional rights” as the protesters in the George Floyd protests that occurred around the end of May / beginning of June. Sylvester Turner believes that he has made the right call to cancel the event, citing the cancellation of the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
"Look, these are some very serious times, and the safety of the people attending the convention, the employees, their family members, the people in the city of Houston, have their public health concerns," Turner said Wednesday. "First responders, police, fire, and municipal workers will all be in contact or in close proximity to this indoor gathering. Simply, the public health concerns outweighed anything else."
Turner said the contract cancellation will mean that the convention cannot be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center or any other facility in Houston, but may continue virtually.
"I am the mayor of every single person in this city, and if you're not willing to step up and do the right thing, I am not going to divorce my responsibility and my child. We closed down the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and this convention is no greater or better," Turner said.
During a virtual City Council meeting Wednesday, Turner said he asked the city's legal department to work with the Houston First Corporation, which operates the George R. Brown Convention Center, to review the contract with the state party.
"Where there are provisions that would allow us to cancel this convention - we will exercise those provisions," Turner said. "And the plan is to exercise those provisions to cancel this agreement, this contract, today - to not go forward with this convention."
Because of the conflict raging between the Republican Party and the city of Houston, Mark Keough, the County Judge (a role similar to County Commissioner in many other states) of Montgomery County, has offered the GOP an in-person convention, provided that attendees follow respective coronavirus guidelines. Keough assured that there will be no “political pressure” on the Texas Republican Party, and no last-minute changes given that said guidelines are followed. He also wants to assure that the state GOP meets requirements for the upcoming November election.
Although Harris County is far from deep blue and is instead purple in voting patterns, given that Trump lost by only 12 points back in 2016, Montgomery County, which is directly north of Harris County, is blood red. Montgomery County, Texas was the only county in the entire USA where Donald Trump won by a margin of more than 100,000 votes. In addition, Beto O’Rourke lost the Senate race to Ted Cruz by roughly 50 points in Montgomery. In the past, presidential nominees like George Wallace have won the county back in 1968, even though Wallace himself has placed third place among presidential candidates in Texas during the respective 1968 Presidential election, and “States’ Rights” candidate Strom Thurmond had a strong showing in the county back in 1948.
Montgomery County is known for being the birthplace of the Texas state flag and for places like Lake Conroe and The Woodlands, but the county has a fairly troubled history. Not only did the county have a strong concentration of slavery in the mid-19th century, but Montgomery is also notorious for placing Clarence Brandley in death row for almost a decade, for a crime that Brandley himself did not commit. Could Montgomery County be also known as a large COVID-19 hotspot, much like Tulsa is becoming as of this writing? Or will the Texas government override the will of the city of Houston and hold the convention in GRB anyway? Only time will tell.