Almost a dozen candidates are already in the running to fill Texas’ 6th Congressional District seat, left empty by the late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright (R–Arlington), with several days left to file for a spot on the May special election ballot.

Congressman Wright was re-elected to a second term in 2020 but passed away earlier this month after battling lung cancer and COVID-19.

Susan Wright, the late congressman’s widow, is a front-runner in the race to fill his unexpired term. Wright officially entered the contest Wednesday and immediately drew broad support.

Today she released a long list of endorsements from across the district, which includes parts of Fort Worth and Arlington in Tarrant County, as well as all of Ellis and Navarro counties.

Other Republicans reportedly running in the reliably red district include State Rep. Jake Ellzey (R–Waxahachie), a first-term lawmaker who ran second to Wright in the 2018 GOP primary for CD 6; John Castro, who ran in 2020’s U.S. Senate primary; Sery Kim, formerly a Small Business Administration official in the Trump administration; and Michael Egan.

Two other Republicans are also said to be considering a run: Brian Harrison, who served as Health and Human Services chief of staff in the Trump administration; and former Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson.

Democrats contending for the seat include Jana Lynne Sanchez, who lost to Wright in the 2018 general election; Lydia Bean, who lost in 2020 to State Rep. Matt Krause (R–Haslet); Shawn Lassiter, who previously filed to run for Fort Worth City Council; and Dallas developer Matt Hinterlong.

Others may still enter the already-crowded field.

The candidate filing deadline is 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 3.

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott called the special election for Saturday, May 1. Early voting will run April 19-27.

Erin Anderson

Erin Anderson is a Senior Journalist for Texas Scorecard, reporting on state and local issues, events, and government actions that impact people in communities throughout Texas and the DFW Metroplex. A native Texan, Erin grew up in the Houston area and now lives in Collin County.

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