Meet The Top Texans Scrambling For Ron Wright's Seat in Congress

DALLAS — May 1 is shaping up to be a political shootout in the grandest of Texas traditions.

At the forefront of the races is the District 6 contest to replace the late U.S. Congressman Ron Wright. And first among equals among the contenders is his widow Susan, who likes to tell audiences that she and her late husband were really "a team."

Wright died in early February after a bout with both cancer and COVID-19. His last appearances on the Hill included votes against the second impeachment of former president Donald Trump and votes against certifying the electors in states he narrowly lost in the 2020 election. In the wake of White's death, Gov. Greg Abbott has called for a special election to replace him.

Eleven Republicans, 10 Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent are all vying for this seat deep in the Fort Worth suburbs. If no one candidate is able to land more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates receiving the most votes will head into a runoff election.

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The GOP Challengers

It's not outside tradition for a late politician's spouse to run on promises to continue their late partner's legacy. What is unusual is that Susan Wright faces 22 challengers in doing so. The crowded field includes those trying to wrest GOP control from the defeated ex-president, and those, like Wright, who support him enthusiastically. And that support has been noticed down in Mar-a-Lago, as Trump has put his own thumb on the scale to endorse her.

In a statement Monday, Wright responded to the nod, "I’m truly honored to be endorsed by President Trump, and I’m so proud to be the only candidate in this race President Trump trusts to be his ally in our fight to Make America Great Again,” she wrote. “I’m looking forward to going to D.C. as the Congresswoman from the Sixth District of Texas to represent the America First agenda that President Trump successfully championed every day: securing the border, defending the Second Amendment, and protecting life.”

She's promised to continue her late husband's work and run for reelection if she wins. Wright has also been endorsed by the State Republican Executive Committee — a step well outside tradition in a contest involving numerous GOP candidates. Already the frontrunner, Wright hopes to win the seat outright, but with 23 candidates splitting the vote, that's far from certain.

Her main Republican opponent is ex-Navy fighter pilot and freshman state Rep. Jake Ellzey of Ellis County, who last ran against Wright's late husband in the 2018 GOP primary. In that election, Ellzey was endorsed by the Dallas Morning News, who cited his military service and leadership capabilities as assets. Since his district in the Texas House is part of District 6, he remains a formidable opponent, too. He favors rolling back taxes and "Draconian" regulations, as well as offering to support vets, police forces and America's partnership with Israel.

What do endorsements mean? For the most part, they mean publicity and add legitimacy. This time around, it's Republican Michael Wood who gets the Dallas Morning News editorial board's recommendation for the job. The paper cites Wood as "a Fort Worth businessman and military veteran who we think embodies key conservative principles of limited government, low taxes, reducing debt, reforming entitlement programs, religious liberty, free trade and support of Second Amendment rights."

"But," says the endorsement, "what sets him apart from other Republicans is his willingness to tackle hard truths about his own party. Wood said the GOP has become a “cult of personality” and said the behavior of former President Donald Trump after last year’s election loss was what motivated him to run." As of April 19 — and largely due to his criticism of the ex-president, Wood was polling at 1 percent.

The Democratic Challengers

After a disappointing showing in the 2020 race (and still feeling the sting of Beto O'Rourke's loss to Ted Cruz in 2018), Democrats are trying to regroup. But as they do, they face the opposite problem that often plagues Republicans. But as longtime political observers like to say, "Democrats fall in love; Republicans fall in line." (The Daily Beast calls that "the most annoying myth in politics.") There's a reason it's been said time and again. All too often, it turns out to be true.

This year, Democrats hope that Donald Trump's diminished showing in the 2020 election means that the seat in District 6 is within striking distance. Last year, Trump carried the district 51-48, while in 2016, he won 54-42 against Hillary Clinton.

Many Democrats are pinning their hopes on Wright's 2018 opponent, Jana Lynne Sanchez. She lost that race by less than 8 percentage points. On her platform: Infrastructure investment, COVID-19 relief and health care reform.

The ballot also includes Lydia Bean, the Democrat who last challenged Republican state Rep. Matt Krause in 2020. She's also been identified as the most progressive candidate on the slate, with center-left positions on education for all. She supports lower costs in health care with greater access and investing in local schools — especially apprentice programs and skills training as well as making college "affordable, so that students aren't burdened with debt after graduation."

Bean is also the only Democrat endorsed by the Texas AFL-CIO union, and was able to fundraise $11 million in her race against Krause. As the owner of a small business, Bean had pointed words for Gov. Abbott for not instituting mask mandates across the state, which forced each business to enforce its own rules.

Also in the top tier is Fort Worth education and non-profit leader Shawn Lassiter. She made headlines earlier in the year posting a video to her Twitter account that showed her in her darkened home during the deep freeze that hit the state hard in February. That her breath was visible throughout the video drove home the state's failure to keep Texans safe and warm.

Lassiter's personal platform hones in on voting rights, improved help for struggling families, and equity throughout the state. Her campaign site tells voters, "As a mother of three and a fierce advocate for equity, justice, and working people, Shawn Lassiter believes it’s time for TX-6 to have a representative in Washington dedicated to uplifting these voices — our community’s voices."

Both Lassiter and Mansfield pastor Patrick Moses, also on the ballot, are Black. In 2020, 27 percent of voters in the Democratic primary identified as African American, according to internal analysis from the Lassiter campaign, while 33 percent of primary voters in the 2018 primary (generally a lower turnout without a presidential race on the ballot) were Black.

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