The Texas Equity PAC, the political action committee of Equality Texas, issued endorsements today (Tuesday, Feb, 4) for 29 members of the Texas House of Representatives and five Texas senators who received at least an A on the Equality Texas Legislative Scorecard for the 2019 Legislative Session.
House of Representatives
State representatives receiving the endorsement in this round after scoring an A+ on the Equality Texas Scorecard in the 2019 Legislature are Alma Allen, Raphael Anchia, Michelle Beckley, Diego Bernal, John Bucy, Gina Calanni, Sheryl Cole, Garnet Coleman, Nicole Collier, Gina Hinojosa, Donna Howard, Joe Moody, Ana Maria Ramos, Richard Raymond, Ron Reynolds, Eddie Rodriguez, James Talarico, Senfronia Thompson, Chris Turner and Gene Wu.
State representatives being endorsed after scoring an A are Cesar Blanco, Vikki Goodwin, Barbara Gervin Hawkins, Ana Hernandez, Mando Martinez, Terry Meza, Christina Morales, Jon Rosenthal and Armando Walle.
Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and Jose Menéndez of San Antonio were endorsed by the PAC after scoring an A+ in the 2019 legislative session. Senators who scored an A and have been endorsed are Carol Alvarado and Borris Miles of Houston and Judith Zaffirini of Laredo.Texas Equity PAC CEO Ricardo Martinez said, “The 29 Texas House members we are endorsing today are vocal, pro-active and strong advocates for equality in the Texas House of Representatives.
“These leaders helped move pro-LGBTQ legislation further than ever before, including holding a first-ever hearing on ending the dangerous practice of ‘conversion therapy.’ They also fought on the House floor to defeat anti-LGBTQ legislation and authored pro-equality bills and amendments, and many of these members also joined the first ever LGBTQ House Caucus to change hearts and minds this legislative session,” Martinez added.
In December, the Texas Equity PAC endorsed its first round of legislators with the endorsement of Rep. Sarah Davis of Houston and the founding members of the LGBTQ Caucus: Reps. Mary González of El Paso, Celia Israel of Austin, Julie Johnson of Carrollton, Jessica González of Dallas and Rep. Zwiener of Driftwood.
Texas Senate
Martinez also praised the newly-endorsed senators as being “strong and longtime advocates fighting for equality,” for authoring pro-equality legislation and for helping beat back Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s anti-LGBTQ agenda in 2019. They “showed tremendous leadership fighting for the very heart of our mission and guiding principles of full equality for every Texan,” he said.
Sen. John Whitmire of Houston scored an A+ on the Equality Texas Scorecard but is not up for re-election. Sens. Nathan Johnson of Dallas, Beverly Powell of Fort Worth and Kirk Watson of Austin all also scored an A but are not up for re-election.
Sen. Royce West of Dallas also received an A from Equality Texas, but he is currently running for the U.S. Senate, a federal race in which the Texas Equity PAC does not issue endorsements.
Sen. Jose Rodríguez of El Paso also scored an A+ but is not running for re-election. Equality Texas recently awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award for his decade of dedication fighting for LGBTQ Equality at the Texas Capitol.
The process
Texas Equity PAC only issues endorsements in Texas races. Senate and House endorsements are based on the following factors: Authorship or co-authorship of legislation that supports full lived equality for LGBTQ people, 2) floor votes on good and bad bills and amendments in their deliberations 3) LGBTQ Caucus membership 4) exceptional leadership in committee work to protect LGBTQ rights and/or in breaking with their party to support nondiscrimination or speak publicly on behalf of the LGBTQ community.
— Tammye Nash
