Texas GOP Platform Disputes 2020 Election, Calls Homosexuality ‘Abnormal’

The Republican Party of Texas — the national GOP’s affiliate in the state — approved a platform on Saturday that disputed the 2020 election and labeled homosexuality an “abnormal lifestyle choice.”

“We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States,” a platform resolution stated. The platform, widely expected to have won a final vote by roughly 5,100 convention delegates, also said the party opposed “all efforts to validate transgender identity.” 

The platform included a wide range of other controversial stances, including repealing the 1965 Voting Rights Act, abolishing the Department of Education, eliminating federal income taxes, banning abortion “from the moment of fertilization,” teaching Texas students about “the Humanity of the Preborn Child,” banning sex education in public schools, and calling for a secession referendum. Texas Republicans also formally rebuked 9 of the 10 Republican senators — including their own Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) — who were working on bipartisan gun safety legislation. 

Coverage was less common in right-rated outlets on Monday. Coverage in left-rated outlets frequently framed the platform negatively, using language like “enshrines anti-LGBTQ hate” and “voted to reject democracy.” Coverage from the right also described the Texas GOP convention as “far-right,” using language like “taking a hard right turn” and “far-right provocateurs.”