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Ted Cruz rejects call to drop anti-Shariah activist in Tennessee

In this April 29, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) meeting at the National Press Club in Washington.
In this April 29, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) meeting at the National Press Club in Washington. In this April 29, 2015, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) meeting at the National Press Club in Washington.

By Associated Press 1 min read

photo Kevin Kookogey

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Republican Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is rejecting a call to drop an anti-Shariah activist as his state chairman for Tennessee.

Kevin Kookogey, a former chairman of the Williamson County GOP, has criticized Republican Gov. Bill Haslam over the role of a Muslim staffer and a council that has advised two state departments on Islamic affairs.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations says keeping Kookogey would serve as what the group called “an endorsement of anti-Muslim hate.”

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier in an email called it “completely absurd to assert that defending American law under the U.S. Constitution is anti-Muslim.”

Kookogey planned to mount a GOP primary challenge to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander last year, but abandoned that bid when he was unsuccessful in his effort to consolidate tea party support.