Ex-GOP legislator tries to get Libertarians to quit Texas races

The Austin American-Statesman reports in Sunday’s edition that a former Texas Republican state representative has called on three Texas Libertarian state House candidates — Joe Allport, Jason Jordan, and one other — to quit their races in order to prevent Democrats from winning the seats. Suzanna Hupp said she “called three Libertarian candidates in races where she knew the margin between the Republican and Democrat candidate figures to be close in November. However, one day after she made the calls, Hupp said she could remember only two of the three districts where she had intervened.” Hupp said the Republican incumbents did not know she was making the calls.

Jordan “said he has no plans to drop out of the race,” while Allport “said Huff told him that he could possibly meet with” the GOP incumbent “to talk about issues that Allport would like to see pushed. ‘She said that she couldn’t promise me a board seat or some kind of incentive, but that was a possibility,’ he said.” LP Texas Executive Director Wes Benedict “said he told Libertarian candidates to ‘sit tight and stay in the race’ after the calls were made. ‘I told them that Republicans need to earn those votes,’ he said.”