A major Texas labor union has announced its support of State Representative John Smithee's (R-Amarillo) 2018 challenger.
AFL-CIO Texas announced today that it is backing retired educator Mike Purcell in his bid to unseat Smithee in 2018. Purcell, a Democrat, was one of several candidates that the union announced it is supporting in 2018. According to information from the union's president, Rick Levy, each of the candidates being supported by AFL-CIO have been chosen by at least a two-thirds majority of the organization's affiliates.
“Speaking through Central Labor Councils and the Area Labor Federation, our affiliates have carefully vetted candidates and endorsed, by at least two-thirds vote, those they believe will build a better Texas for working families,” Levy said.
In addition to Purcell, the group announced it is backing Ezekiel Barron in District 88. Barron is running unopposed in the Democratic primary to face the Republican nominee for the seat in November. The seat is currently held by Republican Ken King.
For more information, please visit http://www.texasaflcio.org/.
Photo by AFL-CIO