UPDATE: 8:43 AM 7/18/20
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner tweets this morning that federal Judge Lynn Hughes' late Friday decision has been stayed by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and says an appeal filed by the City of Houston and Houston First has prevailed.
Texas Republican Party Chair James Dickey had sent attendees an update last night saying the convention would continue online today.
EARLIER STORY:
The plan is to resume the Texas Republican Party convention online today, but at least now the Party has options. Late yesterday, Judge Lynn Hughes overturned an earlier ruling that had led to the cancellation of the planned event at the George R. Brown.
TRP Chairman James Dickey released the following statement:
“After the technical issues we experienced at RPT yesterday, immediate redundancy became a key objective. I was invited to join this lawsuit and took the opportunity to provide a last-resort method in-person if we needed it to secure our national election obligations. The RPT is on track to hold its convention online with its approved plan from the State Republican Executive Committee. Our online convention provides the greatest opportunity for as many delegates who want to participate in the Convention as possible. Delegate rights and delegate empowerment are critical to us and define the Republican grassroots. We learned a hard lesson yesterday and with this win today, if for any reason there is an issue tomorrow, we know that we have a single location where, with the necessary SREC authorizations, we could hold Congressional District Caucuses to elect our National Delegates and Alternates and Presidential Electors for President Donald J. Trump.”
"We applaud Judge Hughes for affirming the position the RPT took in our original lawsuit, making clear that Mayor Turner cannot use pretext to infringe our right to in-person Convention. “I hope this ruling sets a precedent for other state and local Republican parties and organizations who come against a bully Democrat mayor’s malicious shutdown.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner then responded with a statement:
"We are in the midst of a pandemic, a public health crisis. More people are being admitted to our hospitals and ICUs, and more people are dying. The State Republican Executive Committee is being totally irresponsible in continuing to push for an indoor, in-person convention. This reflects a total disregard for the health and safety of employees and people in our city. After denying the Republican Party's request for a temporary restraining order, the federal judge late Friday evening apparently has changed his mind. Upon receiving a written order from the federal judge, the City of Houston and Houston First will appeal."
photo: TRP