Texas Governor, Lt. Governor Call For GOP Unity At State Convention In Dallas
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (CBS11) - The Texas GOP convention in Dallas may be Ted Cruz country, but state party leaders called for Republicans to unite behind the presumptive nominee Donald Trump.
During a speech before thousands at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick expressed one way to bring Republicans and conservatives together.
He said, "If Donald Trump wants to unite our party, and if Ted were to accept, I'd love to see Ted Cruz on the Supreme Court, the first nomination."
Patrick received a standing ovation.
Republicans handed out "Defeat Hillary, Vote Trump" bumper stickers to re-enforce their message.
Mary Jane Avery didn't need convincing.
"You vote for whoever you want in the primaries. So when the primary is over, and when we have a nominee, everyone comes together and we elect our nominee," said Avery. "Conversation is over."
But some people like Mark Jarrell still aren't happy about the top of the ticket.
"I will challenge Mr. Trump to step it up, and let's try and unite this party instead of being a showman," said Jarrell. "Grow up Mr. Trump and we'll see if we can support you."
Both the Lt. Governor and Governor Greg Abbott support Trump as the nominee, but Abbott didn't mention him by name during his speech Thursday.
Abbott said, "Republicans must unite to prevent Hillary from continuing the Obama agenda, from destroying our Constitution."
CBS11 asked the Lt. Governor if he believes the party will unite.
He said, "There's never 100% in life, but I think Texas will support Donald Trump, and we will beat Hillary Clinton in Texas."
Both Patrick and Abbott praised Senator Cruz, who is scheduled to speak at the convention Saturday.
Cruz hasn't endorsed Trump.
Bathroom Controversy
Both the Governor and Lt. Governor sharply criticized efforts to accommodate transgender people in public bathrooms.
Mr. Abbott announced he is working with the Governor of North Carolina to fight the Obama administration.
North Carolina passed a law that requires people there to use public bathrooms based on their gender at birth.
The Obama administration filed suit this week accusing lawmakers of discrimination.
In turn, the state filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
Governor Abbott says it's time to fight back.
"Obama is turning bathrooms into courtroom issues," said Abbott. "He is re-writing the Civil Rights Act to force states to bow down to Barack Obama's political agenda."
We will pass legislation out of the Texas Senate this session to keep men out of ladies rooms, and locker rooms, and showers and he bathrooms and our schools, our public buildings," said Lt. Gov. Patrick.
Mark Phariss, a board member of Equality Texas, a group that advocates for full equality of the LGBT community, says North Carolina has lost a lot of business because of its law.
He also questions how that state's law can be enforced.
The Lt. Governor says he can't understand why there's a debate about the issue.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Follow Jack on Twitter: @cbs11jack
