Hotze calls Buzbee a ‘liar,’ pulls support
Anti-gay leader Steve Hotze withdrew his support for Tony Buzbee on Thursday, and called the mayoral candidate a “charlatan and liar” for denying he had sought the Republican power broker’s political support.
In an emailed statement, Hotze said Buzbee actively worked to get support from his group, Campaign for Houston, and at one point wanted Hotze to reach out to older Republicans to encourage them to vote for him.
“Make no mistake about it, the reason Tony Buzbee wanted to meet with Dr. Hotze was to gain his support,” the statement said.
Earlier this week, in response to a question about Hotze’s endorsement during a mayoral debate, Buzbee said he “didn’t know” Hotze or why the anti-LGBTQ Campaign for Houston had endorsed his campaign. A day later, Jared Woodfill, a spokesman for Hotze’s group, said the two had met multiple times in the run-up to Hotze’s endorsement, which was published in the Link Letter, a popular conservative newsletter.
In response, Buzbee said he had forgotten about the meetings when he claimed not to know Hotze or agree with his anti-gay stances.
Reached by text Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for Buzbee said the campaign was reviewing Hotze’s statement.
Hotze’s statement details four meetings he and some of his associates had with Buzbee between Aug. 27 and Sept. 17. It was during those meetings, Hotze said, that Buzbee told him that he had opposed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance in 2015, and did not support the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.
“During this meeting, Buzbee had aligned himself with Dr. Hotze’s view on these issues,” the statement said in reference to the Aug. 27 meeting at Hotze’s
home.
Hotze’s statement also derides mayoral candidate Bill King, whom he called a RINO (Republican in Name Only), and “part of the good old boy network at City Hall.” King declined comment. Hotze’s statement also slammed Mayor Sylvester Turner over the Houston Public Library’s Drag Queen Story Hour, which Hotze called “despicable” and likened to “pedophilia.”
“Campaign for Houston and Conservative Republicans of Harris County make NO endorsements in the mayor’s race,” the statement said. “There are no good candidates.”
The statement also said that all of the city council candidates endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans, which advocates for equal rights for gays and lesbians, should be defeated.
On Thursday, Turner’s campaign said that Buzbee and “his former ally” Hotze would “do well” to follow Biblical commandments to “love thy neighbor,” a jab at Hotze, who cited scripture in his statement condemning homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said Hotze’s endorsement probably did more harm than good to Buzbee’s campaign.
Buzbee’s campaign has centered around depictions of Turner as a corrupt and entrenched leader, but the candidate also has sought support from pro-LGBTQ groups.
That makes the back and forth with Hotze all the more damaging, Jones said.
“The worst part about it is not Hotze endorsing or not endorsing Buzbee,” Jones said. “It’s that he appears disingenuous, and that he’s pandering to different groups or willing to say anything to anyone to get their vote.”