AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The Texas Supreme Court has rejected an effort by the Republican Party of Texas to move ahead with its in-person convention this week in Houston.
The court denied an appeal filed directly by the party seeking a temporary restraining order to force Houston officials to honor the convention's contract, along with a separate petition filed by party activists.
"The Party argues it has constitutional rights to hold a convention and engage in electoral activities, and that is unquestionably true," the Supreme Court's opinion reads. "But those rights do not allow it to simply commandeer use of the Center."
The convention, which was expected to draw up to 6,000 people, was set to take place July 16-18 at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston First Corporation, which operates the convention center, canceled the party's contract on Wednesday. In turn, the party filed a lawsuit Thursday, seeking an injunction to have the convention proceed.
Party chairman James Dickey said the party will continue its efforts in court. "We had hoped that the Supreme Court of Texas would recognize that the issue before it involved constitutionally protected rights flowing from our contract with the Convention Center and confirm that a contract cannot be breached for political purposes," Dickey said in a statement. "We believe that Mayor Turner used his control of city-owned property to disenfranchise Republicans and attempt to deny them the opportunity to cast their votes for national delegates and electors in-person in Houston."
A hearing on the party's lawsuit continued Monday morning in a Harris County district court. Dickey says the party will wait on a ruling before making any final decisions on how to move forward, with temporary committee meetings already underway in Houston.
Party officials have said they have a contingency plan to proceed with a virtual convention.
Texas and Houston in particular have become a hotspot for the coronavirus, with Harris County leading the state in active cases - more than 27,000 as of Sunday afternoon. Turner and other local leaders have continued to ask Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the ability to roll back re-opening in order to deal with the virus.
"No one wanted to make this to even appear to be political," Turner said last Wednesday. "This is a political convention, and the last thing you want to do in the midst of a pandemic is to politicize it or to make it seem as though you're going out of your way to close the door."