LOS ANGELES – The pastor of a Chino megachurch is facing criticism after he urged his congregation of thousands to vote for Republican Steve Garvey in the upcoming election for U.S. Senate.
Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills told his parishioners that “regarding our upcoming local vote,” he believes God wants a “pro-life” candidate, as reported by Newsweek.
“I want to publicly, right now today, encourage all of you to vote for Steve Garvey. You’ve got to vote for Steve Garvey. I just remembered, it’s against the law for me to say that in the pulpit,” Hibbs said.
Amid applause from congregants, Hibbs then steps from behind the pulpit so he can explain his support for “one of the greatest baseball players of all time” in his role “as a public citizen,” video shared by Right Wing Watch shows.
Garvey is currently locked in a battle with U.S. Rep. Katie Porter for the second spot in an expected November runoff, as U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff is a clear frontrunner. Porter, Schiff and fellow U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee are all Democrats running to take the seat held for decades by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
A response from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which works to keep church and state separate, added that they “will be asking the IRS to ensure that Pastor Hibbs’ church no longer receives the benefits of 501(c)(3) status and that donations made to his church are no longer treated as tax deductible.”
Hibbs did not respond to KTLA’s repeated requests for comment. The Garvey campaign declined to comment.