Endorsement or highlight? Was nonprofit’s support for Fort Worth TX House candidate legal?
Cheryl Bean narrowly lost her bid for Republican nominee for Texas House District 97 to John McQueeney Tuesday night, despite a number of influential endorsements in her corner.
In addition to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare and a slew of other state and local elected officials, Bean also boasted the backing of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations that are legally prohibited from making political endorsements.
Among the endorsements listed on Bean’s campaign website are the 501(c)(3) nonprofits For Liberty & Justice, Texas Home School Coalition, Moms for America and the NRA.
Tax-exempt organizations with 501(c)(3) status are prohibited from endorsing political candidates, according to the IRS.
“Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status 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 northern 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 does not call it an endorsement.
“This is not an endorsement, however, we do highlight candidates who are in relationship with us, which is totally legal and under the law,” he said.
On March 27, Schatzline said in an interview on the For Liberty & Justice podcast, “It’s time to rally behind godly men and women in this runoff and say, ‘Not only are we going to help fund your campaign, but we are going to get behind you with grassroots efforts, knock on doors, go block walking, run rallies, show up at the polls, serve at the polls, and we’re going to make sure that the right person gets elected.”
He then clarified for the host the runoff candidates receiving For Liberty & Justice’s support: “Cheryl Bean and John O’Shea are the ones that are going to fight for our values.”
The description on the podcast’s YouTube channel says that part of For Liberty & Justice’s vision is taking a political stand for the organization’s values.
“We stand for liberty and justice by vetting and supporting candidates who are willing to do whatever it takes to protect our God-given liberties and take a stand for Biblical Justice!” the description reads.
As for Bean calling the organization’s support an endorsement, Schatzline said, “I can’t speak for other people’s campaigns, but we’re really proud to support Cheryl on our Friends & Family list.”
Bean’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The flyer listing the candidates has the accompanying text: “Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement. These are candidates that are involved in their local church and share our values (see reverse) In every case, we encourage you to take the time to pray and research — then vote!”
The disclaimer does not disavow For Liberty & Justice of the act of endorsing Bean’s campaign, according to Mark Jones, a political scientist from Rice University.
“I don’t think the disclaimer gets them off the hook,” he said.
Had the organization posted more educational material meant to inform voters of where Bean, O’Shea and their opponents stood on policy issues, the public display of support could have been written off as a highlight and not an endorsement, Jones said.
“I think they’ve gone over the line here,” he said. “This strikes me as them advocating for voters to cast a ballot for John O’Shea in District 12 and Cheryl Bean in District 97, and 501(c)(3)’s are clearly prohibited from endorsing in this way.”
Calvin Jillson, a political science professor at SMU, also saw the flyer as “skating right up to the line” of an endorsement of Bean’s candidacy, but added that there are likely no real-world consequences for such activity.
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 actions.
The only option would be for an opponent to litigate the matter on their own dime.
“You couldn’t make a complaint to the FEC or to the Texas Ethics Commission very effectively,” he said. “And so you’d have to have a candidate that wanted to litigate this distinction and was willing to pay in order to have a court declare, yes or no, this is an endorsement or merely a, 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.
Calling the mistake a “typo,” the organization said, “We will alert Cheryl’s team immediately to make that correction.”
The Texas Home School Coalition and the NRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 9:48 AM.
