A New Mexico megachurch has openly endorsed two Republican candidates for the midterm elections, violating a federal law that bars tax-exempt nonprofits from engaging in political endorsements. Pastor Steve Smothermon of Legacy Church urged his congregation to support Greg Cunningham, who is challenging Democratic Representative Gabriel Vasquez in a competitive House race, and later endorsed Gregg Hull for governor. The endorsements come as the Trump administration pursues a legal challenge to the 1954 Johnson amendment.
The Johnson amendment prohibits churches and other tax-exempt groups from endorsing candidates. The Trump administration has sought to weaken the ban: in 2017 President Trump signed an executive order limiting enforcement, and in 2025 the Internal Revenue Service filed a court document saying churches could endorse candidates. A court blocked the IRS’s proposal, and the administration appealed the ruling in September.
Smothermon said: “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… we do social work that actually works rather than enabling social ills, so we earn every bit of our tax status.”
Legacy Church has a long history of involvement in politics. In 2014 the church provided parishioners with sample ballots highlighting preferred candidates. In 2022 Smothermon called the Democratic governor “demonic” and told members to vote for Republican candidate Mark Ronchetti. The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a complaint with the IRS over that activity.
The church has been connected to other controversies. After the 2022 election, it emerged that Solomon Peña, a state house candidate who hired hitmen to fire at Democratic leaders’ homes, had attended Legacy Church. In 2020 Smothermon’s nephew was sentenced to 45 years for abducting two men and mutilating and dismembering one of them. A patient of a church-operated drug treatment facility sued for sexual abuse in 2024; the facility and church deny the claims.
Greg Cunningham, who saw Charlie Kirk speak at Legacy Church, has called the church “a home away from home”. Speaking at the Republican National Convention, Cunningham said: “I very literally would not be here if not for Charlie. He visited my church and he inspired me to take a stand and answer a call to serve on this new battlefield.”
A recent analysis from researchers at the University of Notre Dame, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania found that 14.7% of churches engaged in direct political advocacy and endorsements in the three months around the 2024 election.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The case tests the Johnson amendment, which has been a cornerstone of US church-state separation for 70 years; a successful challenge could reshape campaign finance and nonprofit electioneering.
- Nearly 15% of churches already engage in such advocacy, suggesting a potential surge if the ban is removed.
- The legal battle is ongoing, with the Trump administration seeking to overturn the ban through both executive and judicial action.
Background
The Johnson amendment, enacted in 1954, prohibits tax-exempt organisations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates. President Donald Trump promised to “totally destroy” the amendment during his first term and signed an executive order in 2017 limiting enforcement. After his 2024 re-election, the administration renewed efforts, with the IRS filing a court statement in 2025 that churches could endorse candidates. A federal court blocked that move, and the administration appealed in September 2026. Legacy Church, a nondenominational megachurch with nine locations in New Mexico, has been led by pastor Steve Smothermon for years and has repeatedly tested the boundaries of the law.
Key Perspectives
Steve Smothermon/Legacy Church: Argues that restrictions on political speech are unconstitutional and null and void, and that the church earns its tax exemption through effective social work.
Freedom from Religion Foundation: Has filed an IRS complaint against the church, asserting that endorsements violate the Johnson amendment and the principle of separation of church and state.
Trump administration: Supports the right of churches to engage in political endorsements and has taken steps to weaken the Johnson amendment, including through executive order and litigation.
What to Watch
- The outcome of the Trump administration’s appeal of the court block on the 2025 IRS filing.
- Whether the IRS takes enforcement action against Legacy Church for the 2026 endorsements.
- The result of the New Mexico House race between Cunningham and Vasquez, and how it reflects the electoral effect of church endorsements.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedLegacy Church endorsed two Republican candidates, testing the federal ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt nonprofits.World news | The Guardian: “The church’s endorsements, which violate federal law banning tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates, come as the Trump administration is challenging that ban in federal court.”
- SupportedThe endorsements violated a federal law barring tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates.World news | The Guardian: “The church’s endorsements, which violate federal law banning tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates”
- SupportedSmothermon urged his congregation to support Greg Cunningham, who is running against Democratic Representative Gabriel Vasquez, and later endorsed Republican Gregg Hull for governor.World news | The Guardian: “In mid-August, pastor Steve Smothermon of Legacy Church, a nondenominational church with nine locations across the state, told his congregation about one of the candidates”
- SupportedCunningham is running in a competitive House race against Vasquez.World news | The Guardian: “including a Donald Trump-backed candidate running in one of the blue state’s few competitive races.”
- SupportedSmothermon said the quoted remarks about censorship, political speech and the church’s social work.World news | 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,””
- SupportedIn 2017, Trump signed an executive order limiting enforcement of the Johnson amendment.World news | The Guardian: “That year, he signed an executive order limiting the treasury department’s enforcement of the law.”
- SupportedIn 2025, the IRS filed a court document saying churches could endorse candidates.World news | The Guardian: “In 2025, the administration’s Internal Revenue Service issued a court filing saying churches could endorse political candidates to their congregations.”
- SupportedA court blocked the IRS proposal.World news | The Guardian: “Although a court blocked the IRS’s proposal”
- SupportedThe administration appealed the ruling in September.World news | The Guardian: “Trump’s justice department appealed the ruling in September.”
- SupportedAfter the 2022 election, Solomon Peña, a state house candidate, had attended Legacy Church and had hired hitmen to fire at Democratic leaders’ homes.World news | The Guardian: “After the 2022 election, it emerged that Solomon Peña, a state house candidate who hired hitmen to fire at the homes of several New Mexico Democratic leaders after he lost his race, had attended Legacy Church.”
- SupportedAt the Republican National Convention, Cunningham said he would not be there without Charlie Kirk, who visited his church and inspired him to serve.World news | The Guardian: ““I very literally would not be here if not for Charlie. He visited my church and he inspired me to take a stand and answer a call to serve on this new battlefield,” Cunningham said during a speech at the Republican National Convention in September.”
- SupportedResearchers from the University of Notre Dame, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania found that 14.7% of churches engaged in direct political advocacy and endorsements during the three months around the 2024 election.World news | The Guardian: “According to a recent analysis from researchers at the University of Notre Dame, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania, 14.7% of churches engaged in direct political advocacy and endorsements during the three months surrounding the 2024 election.”