Welcome to the morning brief. If this email was forwarded to you, be sure to sign up (free or paid), so you don't miss a beat.
Today’s stories
GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT was censured again last night and in spectacular fashion.
The Montgomery County GOP unanimously censured Abbott via resolution by a 40-0 vote. This is the latest in a string of censures (1 | 2 | 3), with six more rumored to be in the pipeline.
Abbott, as he gets more and more aggressive with masks and shutdown orders, has drawn increasing fire from his GOP base.
In keeping with this trend, yesterday, the Governor sent a letter to the Mayor of Austin, giving the thumbs up to do whatever he deemed necessary to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. This might include a 35-day shutdown.
THE GOP CONVENTION set for next week increasingly looks like it won’t happen in Houston.
Yesterday, Mayor Sylvester Turner instructed attorneys to find a way to cancel the event, and several hours later, they did, setting off a flurry of activity.
The GOP has attorneys fighting to keep it in Houston; they’ll likely fail.
Dr. Steve Hotze, an activist donor, is suing the city over the last-minute cancelation.
Lt. Governor Dan ‘Brilliance’ Patrick defiantly listed all possible options as to how the convention will take place (good work big guy).
SREC and lay members of the party are making alternate arrangements to gather
And, Rep. Dan Crenshaw is giving props to Turner for the cancelation.
On a town hall call earlier this week, Chairman James Dickey stated a virtual convention is not ideal for the majority of delegates.
POLLING:
BILLY JOE WARDLOW was executed last night for murdering an elderly while stealing his truck nearly 30 years ago. Rep. Jeff Leach asked that Wardlow not be killed.
“The rise in at-home deaths [in Houston] may also reflect people who are afraid to go to the hospital because of COVID-19.” - from a ProPublica story suggesting COVID deaths in Houston may be higher than reported.
Hit the links
SCOTUS broadens religious rights
Famous for MAGA hat on Selena, man runs for mayor
U of H researchers working on a filter to trap, kill COVID-19 germs
Ex-George W. Bush officials launch new group supporting Joe Biden
* $ denotes subscription needed
Coming up
7/15: FEC reports due
7/31: PFS filings due
Thanks for reading
Please feel free to contact me (reply to this email or email me at pushjunction@gmail.com) with questions, comments, suggestions, or tips.