Kory Watkins' Racist Tweet Could Impact His Run for Governor
Kory Watkins, Libertarian party front-runner for Governor of Texas, the position currently held by Greg Abbott, tweeted out a racist comment in 2011 directed at NFL Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson.
This tweet was directed on the same day the Tennessee Titans offered Johnson a four-year, $53.5 million contract extension making him the highest-paid running back in the NFL. Johnson had been holding out in order to receive more money.
According to the Washington Post, Johnson tweeted on August 31, 2011, before Watkins’ tweet, telling fake Titans fans to “STFU” and that he doesn’t care if they think he is greedy. He then followed it with a separate tweet saying he was talking to the people “writing me racist Comments [sic].”
“It’s something that happened,” Watkins said. “I know I made a mistake and I’m ashamed for it, of course, but we move on in life.”
The Twitter profile Watkins tweeted from has since been deleted, but a post from If You Only News back from 2015 talks about the tweet which was retrieved by news source Ellis County Right To Know, now Ellis County Citizen. The page at one point had images of the tweet.
He said the way the media runs its game made him emotionally tied to the Chris Johnson story and he was caught up in the moment.
“You have to know the person it was directed towards and where I was at that point in my life not kind of setting into my ideology yet as a person and understanding the non-aggression principle,” Watkins said.
Prior to 2012, Watkins said he was an activist for open carry and did a cop blocking at night as a response to the police harassing his people when they advocated for gun rights. Watkins is known for wielding his AK-47 in public and his videos on open carry and cop watching for others being harassed.
The Star-Telegram reported in 2015 that Watkins has an "extensive record of misdemeanor arrests includes a guilty plea in a 2000 North Richland Hills theft. Watkins, then 17, was one of three teenagers caught with two 15-inch subwoofer speakers and 44 CDs stolen from a pickup on Southgate Drive, according to North Richland Hills police records."
In 2015, Watkins was an elected Republican Precinct in Mansfield, Texas. Watkins said he mainly voted for Libertarians but believed in Ron Paul’s message, which lead him to be a delegate for his campaign during the 2012 Presidential Election.
2015 was when Watkins became more heavily involved with the Libertarian party now holding positions as the Hunt County Chairman for the party and State Executive for the Libertarian Party of Texas. His current campaign for governor is running on a progressive platform.
A post shared to Kory Watkins For Texas Facebook campaign page from his Watkins’ personal page.
Brook Bailey, State Executive Committee member for the Libertarian Party of Texas, representing SD9, told The Dentonite that LNC Executive Wes Benedict captured her thoughts well when he said "There is no room for racists and bigots in the Libertarian Party. If there are white nationalists who — inappropriately — are members of the Libertarian Party, I ask them to submit their resignations today. We don’t want them to associate with the Libertarian Party, and we don’t want their money."
"We welcome people how have outgrown their past and changed into better kinder people to join us. While we won't tolerate racism," Bailey said, "we do believe people can change."
According to NAP: The Non-Aggression Principle, the non-aggression principle is an axiom used by the Libertarian Party that says “aggression is inherently illegitimate,” and “aggression is the initiation of a coercive relationship.”
“I’m a much better person now that I understand those things and that’s an example of who not to be,” Watkins said. “I’m okay to accept my mistakes and man up to admit those things, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Header image courtesy Kory Watskins for Texas Facebook page
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