Republican Jake Ellzey Beats Trump-Backed Candidate in Texas House Runoff

Texas state representative Jake Ellzey defeated fellow Republican Susan Wright in a runoff election for the state’s sixth congressional district, after former President Trump endorsed Wright.

Ellzey won with just over 53 percent of the vote on Tuesday, with Wright taking 46.7 percent. Just 39,000 voters cast their ballots, or fewer than 8 percent of registered voters in the sixth district.

Wright, a GOP activist, was running to fill the seat of her late husband Ron Wright, who died of COVID-19 earlier this year. In addition to Trump, Wright was endorsed by the Club for Growth, Trump’s Make America Great Again PAC, and Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.).

Ellzey was backed by former Texas governor Rick Perry and current Representative Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas).

“One of the things that we’ve seen from this campaign is a positive outlook — a Reagan Republican outlook for the future of our country — is what the people of the 6th District really, really want,” Ellzey said in his victory speech on Tuesday evening.

“I want to congratulate Congressman-elect Jake Ellzey on his victory. I am praying for his success & wish him well,” Wright wrote on Twitter. “I will never forget the kindness the people of #TX06 have shown Ron & I for so many years. Thank you.”

The special election for Ron Wright’s former seat was initially held on May 1 with 21 candidates, and Susan Wright received 19 percent of the vote in that election while Ellzey received 14 percent. No Democratic candidate made it into the runoff election.