(CNN) A county court judge denied a request by the Texas Republican Party to hold its convention in Houston after Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner canceled a contract to hold it in the city, the party said.
Harris County District Judge Larry Weiman denied the party’s request to block the city from restricting the convention on the grounds of limiting coronavirus risk, the party said in a statement Thursday night.
The party said that it “will proceed in filing its appeal directly to the Texas Supreme Court given the time sensitivity of the matter as the Convention was scheduled to begin its committee meetings on Monday at the George R. Brown Convention Center.”
The party has also called for a meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee on Saturday to “finalize location matters based upon the outcome of the case,” according to the statement.
The party is suing Turner, the convention venue’s operator and the city for breach of contract and had asked a judge to force the convention center to comply with the contract, according to an earlier news release.
“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,” the party said in a statement earlier Thursday.
Turner said Wednesday that he had asked the city’s legal department to review the contract between the State Republican Executive Committee and the convention venue’s operator, Houston First Corporation. He announced later Wednesday that he had officially instructed Houston First Corporation to cancel its contract with the state GOP.
Turner told reporters during a press conference on Thursday that he had yet to see the lawsuit filed by Texas Republicans, but welcomed the legal challenge. Turner pointed out that they planned to ask a court — that still isn’t meeting in person — to grant their request for a big, in-person event.