Special election will be held to fill Arlington Rep. Ron Wright’s congressional seat
Arlington U.S. Rep. Ron Wright died Sunday after being hospitalized with COVID-19, leaving a vacancy in the congressional seat that can only be filled by a special election.
Wright, 67, represented Texas’ 6th Congressional District, which covers southeast Tarrant County, including most of Arlington and Mansfield, as well as all of Ellis and Navarro counties. Gov. Greg Abbott’s office on Monday said a special election will be called to fill the vacant seat, but did not provide information on the timing.
Some names are already surfacing as potential contenders. Whoever enters the race will share the ballot with all of the candidates regardless of political party affiliation.
“It’s really a difficult balancing act,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a TCU political science professor. “I am sure that there are a dozen people talking about running with their staff or with their campaign managers today, but they’re doing so very quietly.”
The race could draw local and state elected officials interested in representing North Texas on a larger platform. One name part of the rumblings is Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, whose term ends later this year. Williams was first elected mayor in 2015.
Williams called Wright’s death “a huge loss” and praised his contributions to the community. Asked whether he’s considering running for the congressional seat, Williams said he’ll “always be open to any type of service” but that he didn’t know whether he’d contend for the office.
“I’ll pray and evaluate that later,” Williams said. “Right now, I’ll just focus in on honoring Ron Wright.”
Another name that’s been floated is Fort Worth council member Cary Moon. Moon, owner of Arlington Music Hall. In a text to the Star-Telegram, he didn’t say whether he’d run but did note that he’s “a business owner with good ties to the district.”
Those who vied for the seat in the past could also be interested in again pursuing the congressional seat. In his most recent race in November 2020, Wright won roughly 53% of the votes to Democrat Stephen Daniel’s 44%.
Daniel expressed condolences to Wright’s family on Monday. Before making a decision about whether to run for the seat again, Daniel said he needs to talk with his team and family.
“It’s something that I’m really considering at this point,” he said.
In 2018, Wright garnered 53% of the votes to Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez’s 45%. When asked if she’s running Sanchez told that Star-Telegram that it is not the time to focus on politics.
“His friends and family, let them grieve, and we can talk about politics later,” Sanchez said.
Wright, then vying to replace U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, had a Republican primary challenger in 2018: Jake Ellzey, a Waxahachie Republican who now serves in the Texas House of Representatives. Ellzey was elected to the House in 2020 and recently started his first legislative session. Messages for for Ellzey were not immediately returned.
Texas Democrats are expecting to have a Democrat in the race. A spokesperson for the Republican Party of Texas did not immediately return a request for comment.
“We’re certain that we’re going to have a strong candidate running for this,” said Abhi Rahman, a spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party. “It’s going to be a tough race but we’re going to do our best to make sure the seat goes blue.”
Brian Mayes, an political consultant who worked with Wright in 2018 after representing Ellzey earlier in the election cycle, said Wright had a reputation for being thoughtful and getting input from the community before casting votes.
“The perfect candidate is somebody that can bring people together, sort of, across a wide spectrum of political views and interest,” Mayes said.
The outcome of special elections can be difficult to predict, Riddlesperger said.
“These elections don’t conform easily to the normal rules of primaries,” he said. “Because the first election is, in essence, a jungle primary where Democrats and Republicans alike are running in the same election.”
Reporter Bud Kennedy contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 2:19 PM.
