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The Texas GOP Party filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston on Thursday, furthering its efforts to move forward with an in-person state convention next week.
The suit pushed back against the city's decision to cancel the upcoming event, which followed days of requests from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Given the spike in new coronavirus cases reported in Houston and across Texas, Turner asked the Texas GOP to hold its upcoming convention virtually.
After the Texas GOP formally rejected his requests earlier this week, Turner directed city lawyers to identify provisions in its contract with Houston First Corporation that would allow for a cancellation. Houston First Corporation operates the city's George R. Brown Convention Center, where the convention was previously scheduled to take place.
"This morning, the Republican Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston First Corporation, and the City of Houston for breach of contract and applied for a writ of mandamus requiring the city to honor its contract," said Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey in a statement released on Thursday.
"The Republican Party of Texas is seeking an injunction requiring the George R. Brown Convention Center to comply with the binding contract and is requesting a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the city from restricting the convention's events or using the virus as a pretext to cancel the convention," his statement continued. "Our objective is that the courts will hear and rule in our favor in time to open up the George R. Brown Convention Center Monday morning so that we may safely begin our vital work in the electoral process."
Newsweek reached out to the Texas GOP Party for additional comments but did not receive replies in time for publication. Mayor Turner's office declined to comment ahead of the city official's upcoming press conference this afternoon.
The clash between Houston officials and the Texas GOP comes as the city and state's coronavirus numbers continue to climb. In Houston, health authorities diagnosed more than 2,000 new infections over the past three days, according to data published by the Harris County Public Health Department. The department reported an increase of roughly 1,100 new cases in Houston on Wednesday, the highest daily total the city has seen so far during the pandemic.
Harris County has confirmed more COVID-19 cases than all other Texas regions. Houston's intensive care units reached capacity last week amid an influx of hospitalizations related to the virus.
Statewide, Texas health officials reported roughly 20,000 new virus cases over the past 48 hours. Wednesday's increase marked a new record, with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirming more than 10,000 additional infections. More than 220,500 people have tested positive for COVID-19 across Texas since the onset of the outbreak, according to the most recent DSHS data. The state's total number of infections has nearly tripled since this time last month.
