Fact check: No, MJ Hegar doesn’t want to legalize prostitution, despite claim in John Cornyn ad

WASHINGTON — For the last week, TV viewers in Texas have heard a startling claim that the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate wants to legalize prostitution.

She doesn’t.

But Sen. John Cornyn has spent over $700,000 pushing that message statewide as part of his ongoing effort to scare suburban voters and others away from MJ Hegar.

“She wants cap and trade, which will destroy the Texas economy and raise taxes on families. Her government-controlled health care ruins Medicare and our patient doctor relationship. Her safety plan: defund police, legalize prostitution. MJ Hegar: too liberal for Texas,” says the Republican’s 30-second ad.

Hegar has no such plan on prostitution, and vehemently denies the claim.

“That’s something that John Cornyn’s been pushing as a conspiracy theory. I’ve never said that I’m for that,” she said Monday night during an online forum with the Dallas Examiner.

The claim hinges on Hegar’s support for police reforms advocated by a group called “Campaign Zero.”

The group lists prostitution — along with spitting, loitering, jaywalking, riding a bicycle on a sidewalk, and public consumption of alcohol — as nonviolent offenses that police use to harass minorities.

“Decriminalize these activities or de-prioritize their enforcement,” the group says.

The Hegar campaign accused Cornyn of “distorting and lying about MJ’s record,” citing an archived version of the Campaign Zero website from January, when Hegar began associating herself with its ideas.

Prostitution was not listed at the time but by June it was, and Cornyn aides counter with numerous times since then when Hegar stated, “I support proposals that are outlined in places like Campaign Zero.”

Cornyn spokesman Travis Considine defended the allegation based on the fact that Hegar hasn’t issued her own public safety plan, relying instead on the Campaign Zero outline.

“This pathetic attack is a good indication not only of why Sen. Cornyn has repeatedly failed to support any actual needed police reform, but of how desperate the Cornyn campaign is,” said Hegar spokeswoman Amanda Sherman.

Cornyn leveled a similar allegation during Friday night’s televised debate from Austin during a discussion on police reform.

“Unlike my opponent, who’s actually endorsed this Campaign Zero — you can check their website, go on the web, Campaign Zero — they not only want to defund police, they want to abolish the police, and they want to legalize things like prostitution. To me, those are not Texas values,” Cornyn said.

Cornyn did not allege directly that Hegar herself wants to legalize prostitution, but she did distance herself moments later.

“I have not seen that as part of their platform, and maybe their platform has changed,” she said, adding that she embraced Campaign Zero’s advocacy of “community policing and community oversight and body cameras and police officers representative of the communities that they’re policing.”

As for defunding police, she said, “I don’t support defunding the police. I’m not sure how many times I need to say that. … He keeps lying about me.”

Cornyn’s ad has run during morning shows such as Yolo Texas, Good Morning America and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in particular, in the state’s four biggest cities and the Rio Grande Valley, according to data collected by Advertising Analytics, an ad tracking firm.

Prostitution is illegal in every state but Nevada, where brothels are legal in 10 counties.

In Texas, prostitution is a misdemeanor with a first offense punishable by 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. After four or more convictions, it’s a felony that carries up to two years and a $10,000 fine. The penalties for being a customer are the same.

Hegar openly supports decriminalizing marijuana.

“It is good for treating things like PTSD and would replace a lot of the opioid addiction that we have,” she said on Monday night’s forum, adding that decriminalization would weaken drug cartels and yield tax revenue. “We could regulate it like tobacco, and the criminalization of marijuana has had a disproportionate effect on communities of color and has increased our hyper incarceration rates.”