On Tuesday night, congressional candidate Jake Ellzey defeated fellow Republican House candidate Susan Wright in a special runoff in Texas’s 6th Congressional District on Tuesday night, dealing a blow to both her and former President Trump, who had backed Wright in the race, The Associated Press reports.
The news agency called the race for Ellzey, who won more than 53 percent of the vote with nearly all precincts reporting. The election was triggered after the February death of Rep. Ron Wright (R), Susan Wright’s husband.
Susan Wright ran with endorsements from Trump, who did a tele-rally with Wright the day before the runoff.
“Big election tomorrow in the Great State of Texas! Susan Wright supports America First policies, our Military and our Veterans, is strong on Borders, tough on Crime, Pro-Life, and will always protect our Second Amendment. She will serve the people in the 6th Congressional District of Texas, and our Country, very well. Susan has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump said in a statement Monday.
She lost.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), a Trump ally himself, was quick to congratulate Ellzey.
“Jake will be a strong and effective leader for the people of North Texas and he will fight tirelessly for their values in Washington,” Abbott said in a statement. “I look forward to working alongside Jake as we keep Texas the greatest state in the nation.”
Ellzey, declaring victory Tuesday at an election night party, invoked former President Reagan.
“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, according to Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek.
.@GregAbbott_TX, who stayed out of #TX06 special election runoff, issues statement congratulating @JakeEllzey on upset win: pic.twitter.com/1DsSQ2E6np
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) July 28, 2021
