Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Kyle Rittenhouse, and several Republican candidates appeared at a Fort Worth “Night of Action” event focused on Christian political engagement, Republican unity, and voter mobilization ahead of the May 26 primary runoff elections.
For Liberty & Justice hosted the May 9 event at Mercy Culture Church in Fort Worth. The event page described the gathering as an opportunity for Christians to “come together, get equipped, and take action alongside others who care about the future of the church and of our communities.”
The speaker lineup included Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas); state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), who is running for attorney general; Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French; Agriculture Commissioner Republican nominee Nate Sheets; outgoing state Rep. Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth); Rittenhouse; and Kambree Nelson.
Early voting for the May 26 runoff elections begins May 18.
Speakers Urge GOP Unity
Several speakers urged Republican voters to unite behind the party’s nominees after the runoff elections conclude.
Sheets told attendees that Republicans need to support the party’s nominees even if their preferred candidate loses, Fort Worth Report reported.
“Once the runoffs are done, whether it’s your guy or not your guy, get behind whoever the nominees are, and let’s go in together,” Sheets said.
French, a former Tarrant County GOP chairman, urged attendees to focus on voter turnout.
“You can win if you just mobilize the people who think like you to get out and vote,” French said.
Rittenhouse pointed to President Donald Trump and Paxton as examples of political figures willing to fight through opposition.
“I see the headlines every day of President Trump getting attacked, but he doesn’t stop fighting,” Rittenhouse said, according to Fort Worth Report. “Those are the leaders we should aspire to elect when we go to vote, who is going to put America first and who is going to help save this country.”
Event Focused On Christian Political Action
For Liberty & Justice was founded by Schatzline in 2021 and aims to equip Christian voters to run for office and become active in local government through Campaign University, according to Fort Worth Report.
Carlos Turcios, a Republican precinct chair and director of For Liberty & Justice’s Tarrant County chapter, told attendees the event should energize them for political action.
“I don’t want everyone here to be discouraged,” Turcios said, according to Fort Worth Report. “I want everyone here to be energized, to be fired up, because we got a country to save, we got a state to save, we got a city to save, we got a county to save, we got America to save.”
The event also included information on local political and community involvement through For Liberty & Justice, church partnerships, and Republican-aligned organizations.
Groups present included Turning Point USA DFW Young Professionals, Republican Women of Greater North Texas, Tarrant County Young Republicans, North Tarrant Republicans, and Faith and Freedom America.
