Doctor Group Calls On Texas Republicans To Cancel In-Person Meeting

KERA | By Bret Jaspers

Published June 30, 2020 at 4:33 PM CDT

Confetti falls as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, center, greets supporters after speaking at the 2018 Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio.

The president of the Texas Medical Association, Dr. Diana Fite, is urging the Republican Party of Texas to reconsider its in-person event in Houston. The event is scheduled for July 16 to 18.

Fite is worried about the coronavirus outbreak, which counts Houston as a national epicenter.

“It would be best for the health of your conventiongoers and the residents of Houston for the RPT not to hold its biennial convention there as planned,” she wrote in a letter to party leaders.

The Texas Medical Association counts over 50,000 doctors and medical school students as members. In a news release, TMA said it paid $5,000 to each party convention this year “in exchange for advertising.” The state Democratic Party held a virtual convention in early June.

The TMA cancelled its own conference earlier this year.

Texas Republicans are expected to have thousands of attendees at their convention and won't require that people wear masks.

A Republican Party of Texas spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a statement to the Quorum Report, party chairman James Dickey said “we are taking all input from those involved with our Convention, including that from our Party leadership and our delegates, very seriously.”