Fleming Leads Grassroots Group Disavowing Stockman

AUSTIN (AP/Staff) — A coalition of top Texas grassroots conservatives, led by Smith County’s JoAnn Fleming, formally disavows U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, saying he never represented tea party values. Stockman is challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next week’s Republican primary. But in an open letter to him Thursday, the activists wrote: “there is nothing about your conduct that represents the spirit of grassroots conservatives.” The letter was signed by 12 activists including Fleming, who chairs the citizen advisory committee to the Texas Legislature’s Tea Party Caucus.