Texas Alliance for Life Endorses Dan Branch

The anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life is endorsing Dan Branch in the May 27 Republican runoff election for attorney general after supporting Barry Smitherman in the first round.

Branch faces off against Ken Paxton for the party's nomination. Paxton has won the endorsement of Texas Right to Life, the state's other prominent anti-abortion group.

But while Texas Alliance for Life is only just now endorsing Branch, it had come to his defense even before the primary election. The Paxton campaign aired a radio ad in the week before the primary, alleging that a 2005 amendment offered by Branch would expand access to late-term abortions.

Not so, the Branch campaign said, and they were backed up by Joe Pojman, the head of Texas Alliance for Life, who called the accusation "blatantly false" and added, "Unborn babies should not be used for cheap political gain, and that's how I view this."