Texas House candidate campaigning in churches, in potential legal violation

A congressional candidate in Texas has been actively campaigning at events in churches that feature her campaign banners, potentially in violation of federal regulations that prohibit what the law calls “political campaign intervention”, as a condition of tax exemptions for non-profit religious organizations.

Republican candidate Mayra Flores, who was endorsed in the primary by Donald Trump, is running in this election to unseat the Democratic representative Vicente Gonzalez in south Texas’s competitive 34th district.

In recent months, Flores has appeared at events held at churches that are promoted as revivals, prayer events, and luncheons but appear at times to have a distinctly partisan atmosphere.

Although political candidates regularly show up at churches during an election cycle and even speak from the pulpit, the visits and addresses are usually carefully calibrated. Federal tax law warns of violations if an individual is publicly recognized as a candidate for an upcoming election by the organization in its communications regarding their attendance at an event or the organization does not maintain a non-partisan atmosphere.

Tax-exempt organizations are allowed to take stances on policy issues that divide candidates, but violations can arise if an organization’s messaging at the event favors or opposes a candidate for election – even without explicitly saying so.

In early August, Flores attended a community prayer event held for her at the Collective Church RGV in Harlingen, in the Rio Grande valley on the US-Mexico border. Large campaign banners reading “Mayra Flores for Congress” with an image of the candidate and “God, Family Country” written below were displayed on stage.

The church and the candidate posted photos from the event on their social media pages showing congregants and the pastors, Manny and Erica Espinoza, praying for Flores on stage.

The church’s Facebook page on 7 August includes images from the event and the post: “Epic event last night with Mayra Flores! Thank you to all who came out to support her and her campaign. Help us continue to pray for her, her family and the future of our nation. Go out and vote!!!”

John Darcy, an academic and tax expert based in Edinburg, Texas, said: “They have to have an open invitation to all of the major candidates and if the church hasn’t invited all of them, then that’s a serious violation – plus, the way they conduct a meeting if they engaged in any activity during the meeting that suggested anything more than they just introduced the candidate.”

The Collective Church RGV did not respond to a request for comment.

In another instance in mid-October at Livingway Family Church in Brownsville, Flores made an appearance at an event called Revival on the Border, organized under the umbrella of the 501(c)3 charitable organization Bienvenido, which describes itself as a non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of the Hispanic community and has endorsed Trump.

At the church, a national pro-Trump TV show, FlashPoint, held a live taping with conservative host Gene Bailey and guest speaker Abraham Enriquez, founder of Bienvenido, who made pro-Trump and pro-Republican comments to the audience.

Flores also spoke during the live event. Part of her platform is intertwining Christianity with American government and she made statements such as: “When we see religious leaders getting involved in politics, it gives me hope for our country.”

The Livingway church did not respond to a request for comment.

Flores also made an appearance at Cross Church in San Benito, Texas, in late September at a church luncheon. On her campaign’s social media, Flores posted photos with attendees and herself next to pastors Jaime and Rose Mary Loya, with a backdrop displaying the message “Re-Elect Congresswoman Mayra Flores”.

Flores had won the seat in a special election in June 2022, turning the district red for the first time, but lost it again to Gonzalez in that November’s midterms.

In her post about the Cross Church event, she thanked the church and referenced a discussion about “the importance of electing representatives that have our biblical values”.

Darcy said of such events: “It suggests an issue that the church may be exhibiting bias having only one candidate at a church-sponsored event on the property of a 501(c)3 without providing similar license to the opposing candidate.”

The Cross Church did not respond to a request for comment.

Gonzalez’s campaign said their candidate was not invited to any of the events mentioned.

Federal tax-code further states that a candidate appearing or speaking would not, on its face, violate the ban on what the tax code calls a political campaign intervention, a legal definition related to but narrower than political bias.

However, if the candidate or any representative mentions their candidacy or if any campaigning activity occurs, there may be a potential violation, Darcy said.

Gonzalez said: “I think that’s something that churches need to be thoughtful and careful with. Let’s keep the separation of church and state.”

He added that in his view, churchgoers attend services to hear the word of God and not to hear political rhetoric or support for one candidate over another.

Flores goes to many campaign events accompanied by a local pastor, Luis Cabrera, who sometimes prays for her at the beginning of a rally or event.

Cabrera founded a movement with a name that uses a twist on Trump’s campaign slogan Make America Great Again (Maga): “Make America Godly Again”, which he wears on T-shirts and hats. The movement discusses the need to take a biblical stance on current issues and discusses what it terms godly citizenship.

Gonzalez also said he had received complaints from some constituents who attend the Collective Church RGV regarding Flores campaigning at their church.

When approached for comment, Flores’s campaign directed the Guardian to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), a Washington body that works to elect Republicans to the House of Representatives. The committee sent back information showing Gonzalez attending church events in 2016, during his first campaign for office,with pictures where he can be seen meeting and greeting people at such events while wearing a badge that appears to say Vicente Gonzalez for US Congress.

Gonzalez said: “There is a difference between running your campaign out of an actual church and attending community events as a candidate. They’re saying this because they can’t defend what she’s done.”

Flores later sent a statement, saying: “Why a British newspaper is trying to attack the South Texas faith community is beyond me. While our local churches and faith groups come under attack, I pray our community will hold steadfast in our fight for God, family, and country.”

One member of a Presbyterian church in Harlingen, and a Democrat, Joyce Hamilton said she was disturbed by the merger of politics and religion in Flores’s campaign, going against what she sees as the “sacred” separation of church and state on which the USA was founded.

“What I have been seeing that really shakes me to my core is candidates running on their religion as if that’s what gives them more than just the moral right to be elected, but sort of a coercion of the conscience of American voters,” she said.

She added: “It’s problematic to me as a person who follows Christianity and has my own spiritual search … It feels offensive to me for someone to claim that they represent God, family and country. I wouldn’t be pretending that I’m the biblical candidate.”

Hamilton was also disturbed by the churches appearing to veer into the territory of campaigning for Flores.

“It makes me feel very uncomfortable … mixing politics and church, and possibly pressuring people in the sense of making them feel that ‘I must vote that way as a Christian’ doesn’t fit with my views,” she said.

Jan Demro, a member of a Lutheran church in Harlingen, also strongly endorsed the separation of church and state at the root of the United States’ founding, and was left with strong feelings regarding Flores campaign signs at church events.

“I am totally opposed to the idea that political campaigning belongs in a church. It both angers and it saddens me because I feel like she’s taking advantage of the people that she’s preaching to. What she is preaching on is more Christian nationalism than Christianity.”