A New Mexico church has reportedly waded into a political controversy by explicitly endorsing Republican candidates running in the midterms. Legacy Church, a nondenominational “megachurch”‘I cannot afford to risk something happening to me’ TD Jakes successor named by Dallas megachurch run by pastor Steve Smothermon, which has nine locations across the state, is now under scrutiny for violating federal law.
As reported by The Guardian and shown in a video on X, Smothermon said: “Greg Cunningham has faithfully served our church for 14 years and shares our biblical values. Let’s pray for him, support his campaign, get registered, and vote to flip this seat for someone who will stand for God, our Constitution, and a better New Mexico!”
The church is intervening in a tight race, with Cunningham squaring off against Democratic incumbent Gabriel Vasquez for the New Mexico 2nd Congressional District House seat. As of writing, polling shows Vasquez in the lead by a few points, and he’s notable for being a Democrat elected in a district that voted for Trump in 2024.
“Laws curtailing it were unconstitutional and therefore null and void”
Smothermon’s statement may put Legacy Church in violation of the Johnson Amendment. This bars tax-exempt nonprofits – including churches and other houses of worship – from participating or intervening in political campaigns on behalf of (or in opposition to) any individual candidate.
The bill is named after former president Lyndon B. Johnson (who was a senator when it was passed) and doesn’t bar churches from engaging in voter registration, advocacy on issues like abortion, and discussing politics from the pulpit. However, it does block churches from making direct candidate endorsements.
So, what could happen to the Legacy Church if they’re found to be breaking the law? Donald Trump himself has called for the law to be repealed and urged leniency for churches endorsing candidates, and there have been no successful prosecutions in the last few years (per ReligionNews.com).
However, the Johnson Amendment remains the law of the land and, at least theoretically, the Legacy Church may well lose its tax-exempt status if found to be breaking federal law. Smothermon himself struck a defiant note, telling The Guardian:
“For the last 2.5 centuries, resisting censorship has been a cornerstone of our republic, so we knew laws curtailing it were unconstitutional and therefore null and void – especially for political speech. Add to that a government manufactured health crisis as an excuse to shutter Churches and other institutions that rival or limit a pervasive overlord state and we realized very quickly that silence in the face of such tyranny was not an option. Further, in stark contrast to most government programs, we do social work that actually works rather than enabling social ills, so we earn every bit of our tax status.”
It remains to be seen whether Legacy Church will face any consequences, though if the candidate they’ve endorsed squeaks to victory by a handful of votes, expect Democratic accusations that a tax-exempt non-profit is apparently being permitted to violate federal law.
Published: Oct 29, 2026 11:15 am