Susan Wright advances to runoff in Texas special election

Republican Susan Wright on Saturday advanced to a runoff in the race to represent Texas’s 6th Congressional District, while other candidates continue to vie for the second spot.

Wright was seen as the front-runner in the race, scoring a coveted endorsement from former President Trump. 

“Susan Wright will be a terrific Congresswoman (TX-06) for the Great State of Texas. She is the wife of the late Congressman Ron Wright, who has always been supportive of our America First Policies,” Trump said in a statement earlier this week.

Nearly two dozen candidates were competing in the crowded blanket primary. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held no earlier than May 24 between the top two vote-getters.

As of late Saturday night, fellow Republican Jake Ellzey and Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez were the top candidates behind Susan Wright. 

Susan Wright announced her candidacy on Feb. 24, weeks after her husband, the late Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas), died of the coronavirus and lung cancer on Feb. 7. Ron Wright first won his seat in 2018 and won reelection in 2020.

The district has traditionally been a GOP stronghold, with The Cook Political Report rating it as likely Republican. But Democrats were cautiously optimistic they could retake the district; in 2020, Biden came within 3 points of flipping the district, which is made up of the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs and more rural Ellis and Navarro counties.