Texas School Board Candidate Endorses Conspiracy Theories, Pole Dancing

With added sexism, and a jester's hat to boot

Robert Morrow
This man is pursuing a seat on Texas's state Board of Education with a unique agenda.
Robert Morrow/Creative Commons

Normally, when the Texas State Board of Education is in the news, it’s due to politically-charged questions over what’s placed on a curriculum. This was the case in 2018, when the handling of certain historical figures sparked controversy. It was also the case last year, when the Board’s handling of sex education was up for debate. The latest news story about Texas’s Board of Education doesn’t shy away from controversy, either — it’s just a little weirder.

At The Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Findell has the details. In an election for the Republican nomination for a seat on the state Board of Education, the top vote-getter was one Robert Morrow. Findell’s description of Morrow?

He wears a jester hat, frequently tweets photos of women’s breasts and advocates for teaching in schools that Lyndon Johnson assassinated John F. Kennedy.

Before the general election, Morrow faces one more Republican opponent — Lani Popp — in a runoff election. That will take place in May. Morrow’s platform also “calls for schools to teach children his JFK assassination theory and offer pole dancing classes,” Findell writes.

At Sami Sparber at the Texas Tribune writes, horror at the possibility of Morrow getting the nomination is something that crosses party lines. “Neither party wants to see Morrow, who has a history of sexist and racist rhetoric, elected to the board,” Sparber notes.

Morrow’s potential nomination has also led to a very memorable Tweet from Travis County Republican Party chair Matt Mackowiak.

All of this will make for an exciting election — though for potentially ominous reasons. But with the bulk of two political parties both actively working to defeat him in upcoming elections, Morrow’s road won’t be an easy one.

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