Earlier this month, the Virginia Watchmen Council released a list of endorsements in Virginia’s 2018 midterm elections, supporting eight Republican primary candidates; seven for Congress, and one for the United States Senate. Among those endorsed by the group was Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
The Watchmen, a nationwide ministry to Christian pastors associated with the Family Research Council, seeks to unite pastors from across the United States and support a spiritual renewal in an effort to solve issues faced by the American people, as they seek to ‘champion pastors to transform America.’ According to their website, the Watchmen ask pastors to take three simple steps ‘towards building a better America: 1) Pray for our nation, 2) Preach the whole counsel of God without apology, and 3) Partner with other pastors who will lead their churches to become the salt and light Jesus spoke about and make a positive difference in their communities, state, and our nation.’
Given the Watchmen’s Christian, pro-America platform, conservative voters in Virginia’s 2nd District and beyond were shocked when the group endorsed Congressman Taylor, a freshman representative who has come under fire for his support of amnesty for illegal aliens and Planned Parenthood, as well as his introduction of H.R. 1447, a bill that would expand the scope of the Fair Housing Act. Taylor’s bill, which never passed, would give the federal government the power to force property owners to rent to LGBT tenants, regardless of religious affiliation, and has been compared to the string of legal attacks on Christian bakeries in recent years.
In addition to his legislative history, Taylor has been pummeled by his critics for attending a George Soros linked ‘Global Citizen’ event in New York City last fall, which was headlined by a laundry list of anti-God and anti-American celebrities, including the band Green Day, who attacked President Trump and the United States in a new rendition of ‘American Idiot,’ a song featured on a 2005 album titled ‘Bullet in a Bible.’ Although Taylor has attempted to distance himself from the event, his primary opponent, Mary Jones, recently released a radio ad targeting his attendance, in which he delivered a speech to his fellow ‘Global Citizens’ calling for massive American foreign aid programs to continue worldwide.
Less than a day after endorsing Congressman Taylor, the Watchmen released a corrected version of their endorsement list via email, which excluded Taylor and the 2nd District entirely. ‘THIS EMAIL SUPERSEDES YESTERDAY’S NOTICE OF ENDORSEMENT, REMOVING INCUMBENT SCOTT TAYLOR FROM THE LIST OF VIRGINIA WATCHMEN COUNCIL ENDORSEES,’ the title stated.
Following the correction, Politics Elections reached out to the leadership of the Virginia Watchmen, seeking clarification. According to Rev. MichaEl Hirsch, the group’s Chairman, Taylor’s endorsement was a clerical error. All candidates were sent a survey by the group, and asked to return it upon completion for consideration of endorsement, but according to Hirsch, Taylor had not bothered to return his. ‘The original announcement was a complete error as we had no survey from the Taylor campaign. Upon discovering our error, we sent a retraction to all previous recipients,’ said Rev. Hirsch. ‘I am asking our secretary to resend the survey to the Taylor campaign. We do have and are reviewing the survey responses from Mary Jones.’
Contrary to Hirsch’s assertion that Taylor was endorsed in error, some close to the group have suggested that the original endorsement list was in fact legitimate, and that support for Taylor was pulled amidst massive backlash from conservative voters and supporters of the Watchmen.
Despite the controversy surrounding Taylor’s brief endorsement, last week, the Watchmen chose to officially endorse Mary Jones, who the faith community in Virginia’s 2nd District has rallied behind since declaring her candidacy. ‘So honored to have the Virginia Watchmen Council endorsement,’ said Jones in a Facebook post. ‘It is especially telling that they completely rescinded their endorsement for Scott Taylor after they were shown his voting record, and in turn endorsed our campaign.’
Politics Elections was sent a copy of the Virginia Watchmen’s candidate survey, and while individual responses are not disclosed, a blank copy may be viewed HERE
