MRT: TX Hits New Record 10,351 COVID-19 Cases Sat; Abbott: Next Step Would be Lockdown; 2 Officers Killed in McAllen; TX Voters Total 16.4M
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
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BY: @MattMackowiak
MONDAY – 07/13/20
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TOP NEWS
"COVID-19 continues its grim record-setting pace in Texas," via AP-- "The new coronavirus continues to cut its record-setting swath through Texas as state officials reported a record 10,351 new cases for the day Saturday.
That brought the total cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, to just over a quarter-million dating to the start of tracking in early March.
The true number of cases Arkansas though is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
A record 10,083 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, while 99 new fatalities were reported Saturday. The total is second only to the record 105 reported Thursday and brought the state’s overall death toll to 3,112.
Harris County had the most active cases with almost 27,000, with Dallas County coming in a distant second with almost 13,000.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death." AP
"Gov. Greg Abbott warns if spread of COVID-19 doesn’t slow, “the next step would have to be a lockdown”," The Texas Tribune's Alex Samuels -- "With Texas continuing to break records for new coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations this week, Gov. Greg Abbott reiterated Friday afternoon that things will continue to get worse. And if people keep flouting his new statewide mask mandate, he said, the next step could be another economic lockdown.
“Things will get worse, and let me explain why,” he told KLBK TV in Lubbock. “The deaths that we’re seeing announced today and yesterday — which are now over 100 — those are people who likely contracted COVID-19 in late May.
“The worst is yet to come as we work our way through that massive increase in people testing positive.”
Texans will also likely see an increase in cases next week, Abbott said, and people abiding by his face mask requirement might be the only thing standing between businesses remaining open and another shutdown.
“The public needs to understand this was a very tough decision for me to make,” Abbott told KLBK of his face mask mandate. “I made clear that I made this tough decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 … the next step would have to be a lockdown.”" Texas Tribune
"2 officers, suspect killed in Texas border town shooting," via AP-- "Two police officers were shot and killed Saturday by a suspect who later fatally shot himself in a South Texas border town after responding to a domestic disturbance call, authorities said.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez identified the slain officers as Edelmiro Garza, 45, and Ismael Chavez, 39. Garza was an officer with the police department for more than eight years while Chavez had over two years of experience.
“We have lost two brave public servants who sought only to keep peace in our City,” Rodriguez, visibly distraught, toldThe McAllen Monitor.
The officers first met with two people who reported assaults that took place inside a nearby home on the south side of McAllen around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Rodriguez said. But the alleged shooter, whom police identified as 23-year-old Audon Ignacio Camarillo, opened fire when officers attempted to enter the home.
“They were doing their job. That is what they were supposed to do. The person was a suspect of the incident, met our officers at the door, and shot at both officers,” Rodriguez said. “Both officers suffered fatal wounds, they have both passed away as a result. The officers never had a chance to suspect deadly assault on them, much less death.”
Camarillo shot and killed himself shortly after opening fire on the officers, Rodriguez said, adding that the suspect hid behind a vehicle after other officers responded to the scene. Camarillo had a few run-ins with police beginning in 2016 to his most recent arrest last month on assault charges, according to public records.
More details surrounding the domestic disturbance Garza and Chavez responded to were not immediately known. Rodriguez said the attack happened suddenly and fellow police officers didn’t learn of the officers’ deaths until arriving to the area moments later.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t expect his department to get over the deaths of their fellow officers anytime soon.
“The next few days for us, moving forward as well, will be very, very difficult, for ourselves at the department and at the city of McAllen, but our strength will get us through,” the chief said. “We gather our strength from our police officers, and we gather our strengths from our colleagues, as you can see here.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who spoke with Rodriguez, offered the full backing of the state and expressed his support via social media.
“Two of our finest were killed in the line of duty while working to protect residents in their community,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “We unite to #BackTheBlue.”
Lt. Christopher Olivarez, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said DPS was among the agencies assisting McAllen police on Saturday." AP
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"AG’s office argues Supreme Court should side with Turner over Texas GOP, Hotze,"The Houston Chronicle's Jasper Scherer -- "The Texas Attorney General’s Office on Saturday sided with Mayor Sylvester Turner in a legal dispute over the state Republican Party’s in-person convention, arguing that the Texas Supreme Court should reject the party’s attempt to proceed with the event.
In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins — the state’s top appellate lawyer — said that despite the party’s “troubling factual allegations,” the court should deny its petition for failing to “properly invoke [the court’s] mandamus authority.”
The legal proceedings began earlier this week after Turner ordered Houston First Corp., the city nonprofit that manages the convention site, to cancel the event over concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The Republican Party sued Turner and Houston First, but a Harris County judge denied the party’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked Turner from canceling the event. The party then filed a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Texas Supreme Court.
In its petition, the party invoked a section of Texas’ election code that allows the court to issue orders that “compel the performance of any duty imposed by law in connection with the holding of an election or a political party convention.” In his brief, Hawkins argued that the party’s convention contract with Houston First does not apply, because the convention was to be held under a contract, not a law." Houston Chronicle
"Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in favor of a ‘step back,’ two-week shut down to reduce COVID-19 spread," The Houston Chronicle's Gwendolyn Wu and R.A. Schuetz -- "Local officials are calling for a two-week shut down as COVID-19 cases surge in Texas and hospital beds in the Texas Medical Center fill up with patients.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said it’s time for the city of Houston to “step back.”
“Let’s look at the numbers, look at the data, see where things are,” Turner said in remarks to the media Saturday. “And then gradually, move forward again.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo agreed with Turner in a statement posted on Twitter Sunday.
“Not only do we need a stay-home order now, but we need to stick with it this time until the hospitalization curve comes down, not just flattens. Many communities that persevered in that way are reopening for the long haul. Let’s learn from that & not make the same mistake twice,” she said.
However, the decision to shut down Houston and Harris County is currently out of their hands.
While Hidalgo issued a stay-at-home order in March, Gov. Greg Abbott has since taken over decisions on whether to open or close businesses and has refused to allow local officials to make decisions on the matter. Hidalgo’s office has unsuccessfully petitioned the governor for power to issue more restrictions as COVID-19 hospitalizations spiked." Houston Chronicle
2020
"Texas voter registration surges up to 16.4 million, despite the pandemic,"The Houston Chronicle's Jeremy Wallace -- "Not even the worst pandemic to hit Texas in a century was enough to stem the surge in voter registrations that has remade the state’s electorate over the past four years.
Just since March, Texas has added nearly 149,000 voters even as the political parties and voter registration groups face new obstacles in signing up people in a world of social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
The state now has a record 16.4 million voters, 2.1 million more than it had just over four years ago — a 15 percent increase in registrations that is nearly equivalent to the voter rolls of the entire state of Connecticut.
“It is a totally different electorate than it was in 2016,” said Luke Warford, voter expansion director for the Texas Democratic Party.
Harris and Bexar counties have led the way in the last three months with voter registration efforts. In Harris County, voter rolls have grown by 16,000, while in Bexar they are up almost 14,000. Combined, the two counties account for one-fifth of the increase in registrations statewide.
Warford said for both parties and all candidates, those new voters have thrown a wild card into the 2020 elections as the parties try to get them to break their way. Texas just isn’t accustomed to this sort of surge.
Texas voter registration rolls historically have grown slowly. From 2002 to 2012, the rolls grew by 800,000. But now, registration is in hyperdrive. Just since November 2018, Texas has added almost 600,000 voters.
Some of the change is coming from transplants moving from other states, while many others are coming from minority communities that voter registration advocacy groups have targeted over the last four years.
In short, Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, said 2020 is setting up as a real shootout in regions of the state that have become more competitive because of the diversification and growth of the electorate.
“It’s another step toward Texas being a true battleground,” Rottinghaus said.
That’s a big change from the last 25 years. Since 1994, Republicans have dominated Texas politics, winning every statewide office. They’ve had complete control of the Texas Legislature since 2003.
Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey said his party knows the ground is changing and is making its own preparations to defend the state.
“We are on alert and not taking anything for granted,” Dickey told a group of eight party activists in May in rural Callahan County near Abilene, when he implored them to join the party’s voter registration efforts.
Dickey said up to 2018, the GOP relied mostly on organic growth while Democrats and their affiliated groups huntedfor new voters. Since then, the Republicans have become “more intentional and targeted” in their approach.
A key part of that has been a program they call 10K 4 10R, where 10,000 volunteers each make phone calls to a list of 10 potential Republican voters to ask them if they want to register to vote and have forms sent to them. Dickey said that has already produced 100,000 new Republican votersover the past year." Houston Chronicle
"Joe Biden builds 5-point lead over Donald Trump in red Texas as some voters sour on handling of virus,"The Dallas Morning News' Robert Garrett -- "Former Vice President Joe Biden has built a five-point lead over President Donald Trump in Texas as unease over Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic mounts, a new Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler poll has found.
Biden had 46% support to Trump’s 41%. If the general election were held today, the outcome could depend on the 14% of voters who were undecided or named someone else.
Biden’s lead, which comes after he and Trump were tied 43%-43% in The News and UT-Tyler’s April survey, is significant, if barely: The poll, conducted June 29 through July 7, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.24 percentage points.
The story behind Biden’s slight bulge is the softening of the Republican incumbent’s support among independents and “weak partisans,” said Kenneth Bryant Jr., a UT-Tyler political scientist who helped design the poll.
“While President Trump has and still enjoys near universal approval from Republicans, and overwhelming disfavor from Democrats, he has lost considerable ground among the folks in the middle, who may ultimately decide who wins Texas in November,” Bryant said." Dallas Morning News
"Three Texas House runoffs give warring GOP factions chance to settle up before November,"The Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek and Cassandra Pollock -- "After a string of Texas House primary seasons featuring broad intraparty combat, the 2020 one is coming down to three runoffs Tuesday where hardline conservatives are out for a much-needed breakthrough.
A pair of incumbents, Reps. Dan Flynn of Canton and J.D. Sheffield of Gatesville, face challenges from their right, while Jon Francis and Glenn Rogers are battling to replace retiring Rep. Mike Lang, R-Granbury. Each runoff is playing out in safely red territory and pits against one another familiar intraparty factions that have been brawling for several primary cycles now.
Except this cycle, the internecine combat has been more muted than usual, and the three runoffs Tuesday give each wing a chance to have the final say before the party fully turns its attention to a challenging November election.
“Voters in these communities have a choice between grassroots Republicans or the political elite,” Kimberlyn Schwartz, a spokesperson for Texas Right to Life, said in a written statement. The anti-abortion group has endorsed Flynn challenger Bryan Slaton, Sheffield rival Shelby Slawson and Francis. Those candidates, Schwartz added, "will not betray Pro-Life voters."
The delayed runoff — which was postponed from late May due to the coronavirus — has been a relief to at least Sheffield, who finished second in his three-way March primary. He said in an interview that he has “come a long way since” then, citing a “new team, new energy, new focus, new drive.”" Texas Tribune
REMAINDERS
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: "Popovich had reservations, but Spurs coach ready for restart"AP
TEXAS RANGERS: "Texas slugger Gallo still isn't sure if he had coronavirus" AP
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