In Reality check stories, Star-Telegram journalists dig deeper into questions of facts, consequences and liability. Read more. Story idea? RealityCheck@star-telegram.com.
Cheryl Bean narrowly lost her bid for Republican nominee for Texas House District 97 to John McQueeney on Tuesday night, despite some influential endorsements in her corner.
In addition to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare and a host of other state and local elected officials, Bean also drew support from tax-exempt non- profit organizations that are legally prohibited from making statements of political support.
Endorsements on Bean’s campaign website include the 501(c)(3) nonprofits For Liberty & Justice, Texas Home School Coalition, Moms for America and the NRA.
According to the IRS, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from endorsing political candidates.
“Violation of this prohibition may result in the denial or revocation of tax exemption and the imposition of certain excise taxes,” the website says.
For Liberty & Justice was founded by District 93 Rep. Nathan Schatzline, a Republican whose district includes much of north Fort Worth. The organization listed Bean alongside John O’Shea — who lost his bid for a North Texas congressional seat to Craig Goldman on Tuesday — as “Friends & Family Candidates” on its website.
But Schatzline doesn’t call it an endorsement.
“This is not an endorsement, but we do highlight candidates who have a relationship with us, which is completely legal and under the law,” he said.
As for Bean calling the organization’s support an endorsement, Schatzline said, “I can’t speak for others’ campaigns, but we are very proud to support Cheryl on our Friends and Family List.”
Bean’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The accompanying text on the flyer with the candidates reads: “Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement. These are candidates who are involved in their local church and share our values (see overleaf). In any case, we encourage you to take the time to pray and research – and then vote!”
According to Mark Jones, a Rice University political scientist, the disclaimer does not deny that For Liberty & Justice supports Bean’s campaign.
“I don’t think the disclaimer fazes them,” he said.
If the organization had posted more educational materials intended to inform voters about the positions of Bean, O’Shea and their opponents on policy issues, the public show of support could have been written off as a highlight and not an expression of support, Jones said .
“I think they’ve crossed the line here,” he said. “This stands out to me because they are advocating for voters to vote for John O’Shea in District 12 and Cheryl Bean in District 97, and it is clearly prohibited for 501(c)(3)’s to vote this way. ”
Calvin Jillson, a political science professor at SMU, also saw the flyer as an “endorsement for Bean’s candidacy,” but added that there are likely no real consequences for such activities.
The Federal Election Commission is too mired in polarization to be effective in such cases, Jillson said, with Democrats and Republicans regularly blocking each other from taking enforcement action.
The only option would be for an opponent to litigate the case at their own expense.
“You couldn’t effectively file a complaint with the FEC or with the Texas Ethics Commission,” he said. “And so you would have to have a candidate who is willing to litigate this distinction and is willing to pay to have a court declare, yes or no, this is an approval or just one, whatever.”
Moms for America told the Star-Telegram in an emailed statement that Bean’s campaign appeared to have made a mistake. The endorsement was made by Moms for America Action, which as a 501(c)(4) organization can legally endorse a candidate.
The organization called the error a “typo” and said, “We will immediately alert Cheryl’s team to make that correction.”
The Texas Home School Coalition and the NRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
