Keith Nielsen the chair-elect for the Republican Party in Houston, Texas, Harris County has resigned after racist posts referring to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as a monkey on social media.
What We Know:
- Nielsen’s resignation comes less than four months on the job. The Texas Tribune reported Nielsen was heavily criticized for posting a meme on Facebook, which took MLK’s popular quote, “Injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere,” juxtaposed with a banana earlier this year.
- After the controversy, Nielson was advised by many high-ranking Republicans in Texas to drop out of the race for office. He continued his pursuit and defeated former party chairman Paul Simpson in March.
- After his victory, Nielson announced on Facebook he would not take office in August days after defending his racial post.
“I have spent my entire adult life supporting conservative candidates and causes and I am grateful for the thousands of supporters who have reached out to me over the last several days.” Nielsen continued, “I regret that I must step aside as Chairman-elect of the Harris County Republican Party and will not be taking office on Aug. 3rd.”
- Nielson continued to hold his position as Chairman well past August and officially quit on his own terms on November 30.
- Nielson was one of several Texas GOP members to post racial remarks in correlation to protests that were prevalent in the state around the time.
The local party’s executive committee will be meeting to pick the new chairman.
