Trump-Backed Candidate Loses to GOP Opponent in Texas

Lynn R. Mitchell / July 28, 2021 @SWACgirl

“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.” -Jake Ellzey, winner of Texas CD-06 special election

In what could be a bellwether of former President Donald Trump’s loosening grip on the GOP, a candidate he backed bigly in Texas lost yesterday in a special election to fill the 6th Congressional District seat after Rep. Ron Wright’s untimely death in February from Covid-19.

The final results showed that Jake Ellzey won with 53% of the vote to Susan Wright’s 47%.

Susan Wright, widow of Rep. Wright, campaigned with the endorsement and support of Trump. Her opponent was Republican Jake Ellzey, 51, a retired Navy fighter pilot, who was not expected to win but who began closing the gap in the final weeks before Tuesday’s election.

Texas’ 6th District that includes parts of Fort Worth and Arlington in Tarrant County, as well as all of Ellis and Navarro counties.

The Dallas Morning News reported that, “Trump endorsed Wright over the objections of several major Texas Republicans, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R).” It also noted that, “Wright was also endorsed by the Texas Republican Party, ‘a rare occurrence in a contest that featured other Republicans.’ ”

This special election was a battle between Trump on the side of Susan Wright, who also had the support of the Club for Growth, the Trump Super PAC, grassroots Republicans, conservative organizations, Texas Republican Party, and local, state, and federal elected officials …

… and Trump supporters who were on the side of Jake Ellzey including Ellzey’s fellow Republican state lawmakers, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and former Gov. Rick Perry who served as Trump’s Energy Secretary. While governor, Perry appointed Ellzey to the Texas Veterans Commission in 2012.

By calling in the Club for Growth and his Super PAC, and making robocalls on Wright’s behalf, Trump tripled down on Ellzey to try and beat him. Up until now Republicans everywhere believed if they challenged Trump they were toast. After Tuesday … maybe not … because nothing he did helped her. And she suffered a sound defeat in the 9-plus Republican district.

Could this election signal the beginning of a crack in the base? Time will tell.

Results from the Texas Secretary of State‘s website: