A candidate for county commission in Dallas lost a major endorsement after he revealed in an interview that he had established a trust for his children that proposed incentives for them to marry white people.
Vickers Cunningham, a Republican candidate for the county commission, had received an endorsement from The Dallas Morning News. But after telling the paper he wanted to reward his children for marrying straight white people, he found himself at the center of a controversy accusing him of being a racist.
The Dallas Morning News reported that Cunningham said he had set up a trust that encouraged his children to marry individuals who were “white, Christian and the opposite sex.”
“I strongly support traditional family values,” Cunningham said, according to the paper. “If you marry a person of the opposite sex that’s Caucasian, that’s Christian, they will get a distribution.”
The Dallas Morning News noted Cunningham said he has changed his views on interracial marriage since he set up the trust in 2010.
The editorial board wrote that its move to rescind its endorsement of Cunningham was “based on several pieces of information that have come to light in the final days of this campaign.”
“While Cunningham denies using the N-word, the reporting by The News’ Naomi Martin leaves us unwilling to recommend him to potentially lead and serve Dallas County,” the paper later writes.
Cunningham is running for Dallas County Commissioners Court Precinct 2.