'Oh, shoot!' Republicans bring live elephant to their convention — and it makes a mess

The Texas Republican Party decided to parade a fully grown elephant through the hall of their party convention on Friday — and it didn't go well.

According to a video shared by New York Times Texas political correspondent Lauren McGaughy, the elephant "took a giant pee" on the floor just as it was passing the press area, prompting shouts of surprise and laughter from nearby onlookers, with one saying, "Oh, shoot!"

A follow-up video posted by McGaughy showed the area closed off with a floor sign.

The Texas GOP, coming off a bruising Senate primary that saw voters throw out longtime incumbent John Cornyn, made a strong effort at their convention to project a show of unity and celebration for their party, but cracks were visible even aside from the mostly symbolic issue of large animals urinating.

For instance, state House Speaker Dustin Burrows, who has been a frequent target of the GOP's far-right faction over their frustration that he hasn't done enough to lock Democrats out of committee power, was greeted with boos when he took the convention stage.

Senate nominee and state Attorney General Ken Paxton worked the crowd to the best of his abilities, proclaiming, "I am the Democrats' No. 1 target for November. ...This is Texas, and we're not going to let you take it." He vowed also to "carry the torch for the America First agenda" and to pass President Donald Trump's voter restriction package, the SAVE America Act.