Texas Republican party chairman said Trump can hold the RNC in his state if the president moves it from North Carolina like he threatened

• Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey said his state would "welcome President Trump" and the RNC for an in-person convention later this year.
• President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to move the RNC from North Carolina if the state's governor refused to allow "full attendance" at the event, blaming the Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's "Shutdown mood."
• Vice President Mike Pence suggested Texas, Georgia, or Florida could house the 2020 convention if it is moved from North Carolina.
• Texas has so far seen at least 56,409 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,533 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The leader of the Texas GOP on Monday said the state could hold an in-person Republican National Convention later this year after President Donald Trump threatened to move it from North Carolina.

"Texas would welcome President Trump and the RNC Convention," Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey told the American-Statesman on Monday. "Until then, based upon Gov. Abbott's progress in opening Texas, we are on track for our state convention as planned in person in Houston in July."

Texas has so far seen more than 56,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 1,533 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. North Carolina has recorded more than 24,000 confirmed cases and at least 794 deaths.

As Business Insider previously reported, the president on Monday suggested that the 2020 convention, currently scheduled to take place from August 24-27 at The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, could be relocated because the state's governor would not commit to allowing "full attendance" at the venue, which has a capacity of 20,000.

The state's reopening plan is in line with federal guidelines. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends against large gatherings because they have been known to spread the disease.

"Unfortunately, Democrat Governor, @RoyCooperNC is still in Shutdown mood & unable to guarantee that by August we will be allowed full attendance in the Arena," the president tweeted on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Cooper told the Associated Press that "health officials are working with the RNC and will review its plans as they make decisions about how to hold the convention in Charlotte."

Health officials have continued to stress the importance of social distancing and the limiting of large gatherings — even as states reopen non-essential businesses — in order to mitigate the threat of a more severe second wave of COVID-19 infections.

Georgia offered to host the convention, too

During an appearance on Fox News, Vice President Mike Pence suggested that the convention could be held in Texas, Florida, or Georgia, which he said have experienced "tremendous progress on reopening their communities and reopening their economies."

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp made an offer on Twitter Tuesday morning to host the convention in his state, too.

According to Fox News, the Republican National Committee said it is committed to holding an in-person convention in August.

The vice president said a decision would need to be made soon so that the Republican Party could begin to make arrangements for the convention.

"We all want to be in Charlotte, we love North Carolina," Pence said, adding that conventions take "many months to organize and prepare" and that the party needed a "sense now" of what the convention would look like because of "immense preparations that are involved."

Like all 50 US states, Texas in May began the process of reopening non-essential businesses that had been closed to stem the spread of COVID-19. Since Texas reopened, the state saw it's highest ever single-day increase in new infections. On Sunday, the state department of health reported 839 cases since Saturday.