An elephant peed in front of the press at the 2026 Texas Republican Party Convention in Houston, according to footage posted Friday.
Lauren McGaughy, Texas politics correspondent for The New York Times, recorded footage of multiple people leading an elephant through a gap between throngs of attendees and posted it on X. The convention is set to take place from June 11 to June 13. (RELATED: Ken Paxton Ousts John Cornyn In Runoff Landslide After Securing Trump’s Endorsement)
“They just led an elephant through the @TexasGOP convention and it took a giant pee right near the press area,” McGaughy wrote.
Footage shows at least three people directing the elephant through the gap as spectators watch and record in the background. Music and speaking can be heard as the elephant, decked in a banner reading, “Unity Drives Victory,” suddenly comes to a halt and people start shouting. The camera moves downward to show the animal peeing on the floor. A woman starts laughing as the elephant resumes walking forward.
They just led an elephant through the @TexasGOP convention and it took a giant pee right near the press area. pic.twitter.com/jpefJDuxq6
— Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) June 12, 2026
The convention comes days after Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the May 26 GOP Senate primary runoff against incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a landslide a week after President Donald Trump backed his candicacy. Paxton secured a 28-point margin of victory with 63.8% to 36.2%, The New York Times reported with over 95% of the vote counted. Republican Gov. Greg Abbot and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick both secured primary wins March 3, according to The Texas Tribune.
On Friday, incumbent Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George lost his seat to his ex-running mate, Republican Party of Texas Vice Chair D’rinda Randall, the outlet reported. George congratulated Randall on her victory on X.
The elephant first took off as a Republican Party symbol during the American Civil War, though political cartoonist Thomas Nast’s 1874 “Harper’s Weekly” cartoon was central in popularizing it, according to History.com.