Southwest
Dem gov's new campaign message man once said 'religious right' united by 'white supremacy'
The reelection campaign of Governor Katie Hobbs, D-Ariz., has tapped someone with a penchant for slamming white people, despite being white himself.
Hobbs, a vocal progressive and anti-Trump leader, brought Michael Beyer on as her 2026 reelection campaign communications director in April despite his history of going after people because they are white, and not just Republicans either.
A look through Beyer’s X account shows the staffer levying criticism on social media as early as 2014 against a range of demographics, all with one thing in common – they’re white.
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Far-left Governor Katie Hobbs, D-Ariz., is raising eyebrows after deciding to hire a campaign spokesperson known for spreading anti-white rhetoric.
Beyer has accused the “religious right” of being united through “a belief in white supremacy,” blasted self-professed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders’ voters for having “white entitlement” and accused Taylor Swift and other “white people” of “romanticizing the conquest of Africa.”
Beyer has also espoused anti-gay rhetoric targeted at gay white Republicans, positing in a social media post about the leader of one of the longest-standing pro-gay GOP nonprofits in the country that it was “unclear” whether he was “just a bunch of twinks standing on top of each other hiding in a trench coat.” In another post, Beyer complained there were too many “white men” in a 1980’s news segment about HIV, while in another Beyer suggested “white suburban voters” in Louisiana “had taken over” the local newspaper.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and pop star Taylor Swift have been among the targets of Beyer’s offensive X posts. (GETTY IMAGES/FOX NEWS)
The Arizona governor’s recent hire is just the latest in a series of tumultuous staffing issues Hobbs has faced as governor. In 2022, it was reported that in just five months two-thirds of Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign staff left, with several describing their work on the campaign as “emotionally abusive.” Meanwhile, Hobbs has also been forced to fire past employees over inflammatory social media posts.
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“White evangelicals are the only group that predominantly wants anti-gay discrimination, poll shows,” Beyer posted on then-Twitter in 2017, along with a link to a blog from Slate. “Once again, it is a belief in white supremacy that unites the Religious Right,” he added in his tweet.
In addition to blaming religious conservatives for being racist, Beyer also said in 2015 that Republicans in general “thinks [sic] they only have to answer to white voters.” In a subsequent post, Beyer slammed Secretary of State Marco Rubio for only appealing to “whites” after allegedly “romanticizing U.S. colonialism.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is another of Beyer’s targets. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Turning to liberals, Beyer has also had choice words for white Bernie Sanders supporters, saying in a 2016 post on Twitter that they all have “white entitlement.” He suggested in another post around the same time that the only reason Sanders won New Hampshire during the 2016 election was because the state is “91% white.”
In 2015, Beyer went after Taylor Swift and other “white people” for “romanticizing” colonialism. “Only white people would be the people romanticizing the conquest of Africa,” Beyer said in a 2015 post, referring to Swift’s song “Wildest Dreams” that debuted around the same time. His post was in response to a separate tweet Beyer posted that included a link and title of a NPR op-ed with the headline: “Taylor Swift Is Dreaming Of A Very White Africa.”
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Despite Beyer’s numerous claims suggesting white people are racist, he contended in 2017 that “white people are very bad at identifying racism/racists.”
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs gives a brief speech prior to President Joe Biden’s remarks at the Tempe Center for the Arts on September 28, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. Biden delivered remarks on protecting democracy, honoring the legacy of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and revealed funding for the McCain Library. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Hobbs campaign to question whether it would be reconsidering its decision to hire Beyer, but never received a response.
Beyer himself did not respond when reached for comment, either.
In addition to Beyer, Hobbs has a history of hiring other staffers who have made controversial remarks on social media. She has also had an issue with high turnover in her office.
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One of Hobbs’ former press secretaries was fired in 2023 after posting an image of a lady drawing two pistols from her hip, which included the caption “Us when we see transphobes.” The social media post came the same day a gender-confused individual opened fire at an elementary school in Nashville, after which some critics cited the person’s gender dysphoria as a possible catalyst for the horrific event.
Hobbs’ office has also been impacted frequently by an unusually high turnover rate among her staff. In 2022, it was reported that two-thirds of Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign staff left across a period of just five months, with some of the departing staff describing their work on the campaign as “emotionally abusive.”
The culture was apparently so bad, the staffers said, they had to upend their lives mid-election to seek employment elsewhere.
Hobbs has lost staffers in the middle of ongoing legislative sessions, and, in 2023, Hobbs’ legislative director resigned just hours before the release of the state’s budget.
At least one of Hobbs’ staffers went from their job on her campaign to another job with Arizona politics.
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Politicians across the nation claim they want a world-class education system that ensures every child receives the education they deserve.
How we get there is the source of debate. Despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars in recent decades on our public education system, we have very little to show. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. hovers near the middle of the pack internationally in standardized test scores even as other countries have advanced. One report said, “The U.S. struggled the most in math, where 15-year-olds in 29 other countries had higher average scores than Americans.”
This is unacceptable. And while there are a variety of reasons for our education stagnation, we believe that one answer is to provide families more choice, including private, religious schools.
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Parents in Oklahoma have been fighting for more education freedom for decades. One way Oklahoma responded was by expanding access for new and innovative charter schools as alternatives for parents seeking a better education for their children, including offerings such as a French-immersion school.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if Oklahoma can let a Catholic school join its charter program. What will the court have to say? FILE: The court is seen on Nov. 15, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
But Oklahoma’s choice is under attack once again at the United States Supreme Court.
In Oklahoma, we have been battling two different lawsuits trying to destroy faith-based options for parents to choose. The ACLU, Freedom from Religion Foundation and others filed the first suit. Shockingly, the attorney general of Oklahoma, Gentner Drummond, filed the second.
The aim of both suits is to prevent the Statewide Charter School Board and our Oklahoma Department of Education from treating St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School the same as every other applicant who applies to be a charter school simply because it is faith-based. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in the case.
Oklahoma is rural. To ensure parents in rural areas have expanded choices, virtual options are available. We believe in Oklahoma that parents are best positioned to determine the educational needs of their own children and that the Oklahoma Department of Education should give parents as many options as possible to meet a diverse array of needs. Some parents may choose their local school, some parents may choose a brick-and-mortar charter school in their area, some parents may prefer a virtual approach.
St. Isidore applied to be one of those options. They met all the academic criteria we require in Oklahoma to be a qualified option for parents. However, the ACLU and Attorney General Drummond objected, claiming that the state must discriminate against St. Isidore because it is Catholic.
Supporters of school choice responded that we are simply trying to expand options for parents, and we are not allowed to violate the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution.
In fact, we felt bound by prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions prohibiting this kind of religious bigotry in educational choices, including Carson v. Makin, a recent case won by the Institute for Justice and First Liberty Institute against the state of Maine for doing precisely what Drummond is demanding be done here – engaging in religious bigotry against a faith-based educational option.
The argument, advanced by the ACLU and Drummond, is that religious bigotry is enshrined in the Oklahoma Constitution because it has two provisions that work together to prohibit government resources from aiding a faith-based educational program.
These provisions are sometimes called “little Blaine Amendments,” because they harken back to efforts by Senator James Blaine from Maine in the late 19th Century to ensure that no public funds would go to Catholic schools but rather would be reserved to the more Protestant-friendly public schools.
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This effort to ban Catholic schools from receiving any aid is a “doctrine, born of bigotry,” according to Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. It is this bigotry that the ACLU and Drummond are attempting to continue, and it is this bigotry that we intend to end in Oklahoma.
For decades, politicians and activists pointed fingers at each other, each trying to blame another for the educational ills of our home state. Almost every solution offered sounds different and promising, but they usually have the same thing in common – they are government-led solutions.
We are trying to do something different in Oklahoma. We are trying to empower parents to decide for their families and force schools to compete for parents in an open market system. Some parents would like a faith-based option.
St. Isidore applied to be one of those options. They met all the academic criteria we require in Oklahoma to be a qualified option for parents. However, the ACLU and Attorney General Drummond objected, claiming that the state must discriminate against St. Isidore because it is Catholic.
Excluding that option in the name of 19th century religious bigotry is just another political agenda driving education policy.
Instead of fighting against parents and telling them that government officials know what is best for their children, we should instead listen to them. There is hope that the Supreme Court will give us this chance, a chance to take power away from government bureaucrats and give it back to the people.
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction since 2023, is a former high school history teacher and education reform advocate committed to parental empowerment and conservative policy initiatives in public education. Hiram Sasser is executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HIRAM SASSER
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RYAN WALTERS
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Texas hospitals were left on the hook for nearly $122 million in health care costs racked up by illegal immigrants for one month last year, the first month the state began tracking the figures.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order in August mandating the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to track the number of “individuals not lawfully present” in the U.S. who used Texas public hospitals.
The first report, released Friday, shows more than 31,000 hospital visits by illegal immigrants in November alone — costing Texas hospitals $121.8 million.
Texas hospitals were left on the hook for nearly $122 million in health care costs racked up by illegal immigrants for one month last year, the first month the state began tracking the figures. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order in August mandating the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to track the number of “individuals not lawfully present” in the U.S. who used Texas public hospitals. (Getty Images)
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Abbott’s executive order directed Texas hospitals to provide THHSC with quarterly breakdowns on patients who are not lawfully present in the U.S., including the number of inpatient discharges, emergency department visits and the cost of care provided to these patients.
Though the $121.8 million incurred represents the month of November 2024, future reports will include full quarterly data, THHSC said. The agency will release its first yearly report of data collected from hospital providers Jan. 1, 2026.
THHSC said that hospital providers inform patients that their immigration status responses do not affect their care, as required by federal law.
Texas, a border state, reported some of the highest crossing numbers ever recorded under the Biden administration, putting immense pressure on its healthcare system, Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, told Fox News Digital.
A doctor looking at healthcare data on a screen (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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“Many of these illegal immigrants are straining the Texas hospital system, which is why Governor Abbott directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to begin assessing the cost of care,” Mahaleris said.
“Now, Texas has reliable data on the dramatic financial impact that illegal immigration is having on our hospital system.”
Mahaleris praised President Donald Trump’s “swift action” in securing the southern border, noting that illegal crossings have dropped to record lows.
“Texas is hopeful that [Trump’s] efforts to remove those who entered unlawfully may also cause these healthcare costs to decline.”
Last week, the Texas House Committee on Public Health heard testimony about a bill by Fort Worth Republican Rep. Mike Olcott’s that would make Abbott’s executive order a law, Fox 26 Houston reported.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over more than 2,000 migrants at a field processing center on December 18, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the Texas Hospitals Association, the principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and healthcare systems, said that the fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care.
“With 24/7 life-saving care, hospitals are required by law to treat anyone who comes through the door, regardless of ability to pay, regardless of their demographics,” the association said in a statement.
The fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care. Hospitals remain open and ready to serve Texans’ acute care needs.”
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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday in the case of a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma that is seeking the support of public funds.
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be the nation’s first religious charter school, setting a precedent sure to be capitalized on by other religious institutions. Both the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, have argued funding the school is unconstitutional.
Oklahoma Gov. Gov. Kevin Stitt, also a Republican, argues the First Amendment allows funding for the school.
For Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing, the St. Isidore case has been consolidated with the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, another similar case.
Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the school In the brief, the Republican senators flipped Drummond’s First Amendment argument on the attorney general, arguing Oklahoma violated the First Amendment by denying St. Isidore a charter because it’s a religious school.
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The Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the establishment of the nation’s first religious charter school on Wednesday. (Anna Moneymaker)
“It’s no secret that parents want to educate their children in line with their values. And a public good shouldn’t be denied to anyone based on their religion. The outcome of this case will be revolutionary for religious liberty and education freedom, and Oklahoma is at the forefront,” Stitt’s office said in a statement.
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The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, which opposes St. Isidore’s effort, argued the case is a slippery slope that would have a far-reaching impact.
“We strongly believe the Supreme Court should maintain that charter schools are public, which is based on 30 years of law. To allow a religious charter school, the Court would be redefining charter schools as private, thereby putting charter school funding at significant risk and dramatically reducing access to school choice for millions of families across the country,” the organization’s president, Starlee Coleman, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s contract request in June 2023, allowing them to receive public funds. Lawsuits soon brought the case up to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled against the school last year.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., (left) and Oklahoma Attorney General Drummond (right) disagree on whether the First Amendment allows the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board to grant St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Charter School public funding. (Getty/AP)
The Supreme Court is now reviewing that ruling by Oklahoma’s highest court, which found that funding the school violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”
“Charter schools no doubt offer important educational innovations, but they bear all the classic indicia of public schools,” Drummond argued in SCOTUS filing.
Advocates of the school point to the Free Exercise clause, which has been used in recent Supreme Court rulings to defend public funding going to religious institutions.
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“A State need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue in 2020. “But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (L) and Associate Justices (L-R) Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh stand on the House floor ahead of the annual State of the Union address. (Getty Images)
The amicus brief from GOP lawmakers made a similar argument, claiming the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling was ill-considered.
“Upholding the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act with the included exclusion of religious organizations would set a dangerous precedent, signaling that religious organizations are not welcome in public projects. This would not only violate the First Amendment, but it would also deprive society of the valuable contributions that these organizations make,” the Republican senators wrote.
Fox News’ Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report
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