TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENT :

GOP wins more backing from black clergy : Pastor turns Republican, supports Perry (JOHN WILLIAMS, June 8, 2002, Houston Chronicle)

For the second time in two years, an African-American minister from Houston took center stage Saturday at a Republican event.

The Rev. C.L. Jackson of Houston's Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church provided a show of support for Gov. Rick Perry by announcing at the Republican State Convention that he is switching parties.

To the cheers of some 8,500 party stalwarts, Jackson said that his two days at the convention convinced him that he now is a Republican after years of being a Democrat.

You'd think the black clergy and religious blacks in general would be an area where the GOP could make some inroads. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 9, 2002 6:13 AM