After some Texas legislative candidates rejected the endorsement of a pro-amnesty group, several candidates for the Texas House are so far refusing to distance themselves.
Last week, the LIBRE Initiative and its partner organization Americans for Prosperity announced a slate of endorsements for the Texas Legislature. Both organizations are heavily funded by the Koch network, which has repeatedly led “immigration reform” efforts in Washington, D.C., including granting permanent legal status for those in the country illegally.
In their announcement, AFP and LIBRE said they were “committed to seeing policy changes throughout Texas and are willing to spend up to $1M to ensure these candidates clear their primaries in March.”
But just a few days later, three candidates for the Texas Senate—Pete Flores, Mayes Middleton, and Tan Parker—all rejected the group’s support, saying they did not solicit the endorsement and did not want it.
The LIBRE Initiative and AFP then withdrew their unwanted endorsements while doubling down on their position, saying they support “creating an earned pathway to legal status for Dreamers who pass a background check, register with the government, and are either employed and/or in school.”
So far, however, there has been nothing but silence from four Texas House candidates whom the organization endorsed.
Texas Scorecard has reached out to Adam Blanchard (HD-122), Laura Hill (HD-93), Hayden Padgett (HD-70), and Kronda Thimesch (HD-65) to see if they are sticking with the group’s support. As of publishing, those inquiries have not been answered.
The Republican Party of Texas platform, however, is very clear on its opposition to any kind of amnesty.
“Any form of amnesty with regard to immigration policy should not be granted, including the granting of legal status to persons in the country illegally,” the platform reads.
