The 2021 Texas's 6th congressional district special election was held on May 1, 2021. The seat became vacant after incumbent Republican Ron Wright died on February 7 of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Ron Wright's widow, Susan Wright from

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

, who was endorsed by former president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, and Jake Ellzey (who lost the Republican primary for this seat to Ron Wright in 2018) of

Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...

, who served as a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

starting on January 12, advanced to the runoff. Ellzey finished ahead of

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Jana Lynne Sanchez of

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

for the second place by just 354 votes. Sanchez conceded defeat to Ellzey the day after the election. The district was a Republican hold due to two Republicans advancing to the runoff. The special election was expected to be competitive, due to the district trending Democratic in recent years and its

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an nature. A

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

took place, in which all candidates were listed on the same ballot. Since no candidate had received over 50 percent of the vote, the race proceeded to a runoff between the top two candidates in the first round, resulting in two Republicans advancing to the runoff. The runoff took place on July 27. Ellzey won the runoff election, earning 53.3% to Wright's 46.7%.

Candidates

Republican Party

Declared

*Michael Ballantine, business and English lecturer *

John Anthony Castro John Anthony Castro (born 1983) is an American tax advisor from Texas. He is known as the most prolific advocate for disqualifying Donald Trump from the 2024 U.S. presidential election under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitut ...

, attorney and candidate for U.S. Senate in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

*Mike Egan, former U.S. Army Special Forces Officer (Green Beret) and businessman * Jake Ellzey, state representative (2021) and candidate for in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* Brian Harrison, former chief of staff of

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

(2019–2021) *Sery Kim, former SBA official *Travis Rodermund, police officer * Dan Rodimer, former

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

professional wrestler and nominee for

Nevada's 3rd congressional district Nevada's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district occupying southern Las Vegas and much of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, Clark County. The district was initially created after the 2000 United States census, 2000 census. Thi ...

*Jennifer Garcia Sharon, volunteer caregiver and nominee for

Texas's 35th congressional district Texas's 35th congressional district is a district that was created as a result of the 2010 United States census. The first candidates ran in the 2012 House elections and were seated for the 113th United States Congress. This election was won ...

*Michael Wood, major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve * Susan Wright, widow of former U.S. Representative Ron Wright (2019–2021) and a committeewoman for the Texas State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) for District 10.

Filed paperwork

*Monty Markland, writer and producer *Asa Palagi, former candidate for Governor of Washington in 2020

Declined

Joe Barton Joseph Linus Barton (born September 15, 1949) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he represented in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 t ...

, former U.S. Representative for *David Cook,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

(2021–present) *David Hill, Mayor of

*Cary Moon, Fort Worth city councillor *Andy Nguyen, deputy chief of staff for Rep. Wright *Adrian Mizher, banker ''(running as an Independent)'' *

Katrina Pierson Katrina Lanette Pierson (née Shaddix; born ) is an American politician and communications consultant. She was the national spokesperson for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. She defeated Justin Holland by 56.4% to 43.6% on May 28, 20 ...

, former national spokesperson for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and senior advisor to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign *Manny Ramirez, President of the

Police Officers Association * Tony Tinderholt, state representative (2015–present) *Bill Waybourn,

Tarrant County Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. T ...

sheriff * Jeff Williams, Mayor of

(2015–present) ''(endorsed Susan Wright)''

Democratic Party

Declared

* Lydia Bean, small business owner, former state House candidate *Daryl J. Eddings, business owner *Matthew Hinterlong, developer *Tammy Allison Holloway, attorney *Shawn Lassiter, Leadership ISD Chief of Equity and Inclusion * Patrick Moses, former assistant director for Field Operations,

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

and Minister *Jana Sanchez, commentator, activist, and nominee for in

*Manuel R. Salazar, realtor *Brian K. Stephenson, systems engineer *Chris Suprun, paramedic and Republican

faithless elector In the United States Electoral College, a faithless elector is an elector who does not vote for the candidates for U.S. President and U.S. Vice President for whom the elector had pledged to vote, and instead votes for another person for one or ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Declined

*Stephen Daniel, attorney and nominee for in

*Kim Olson, former candidate for in

* Chris Turner, Minority Leader of the

Libertarian Party

Declared

*Phil Gray, property manager

Independent

Declared

*Adrian Mizher, banker

Endorsements

Primary

Polling

Graphical summary

Predictions

Results

Susan Wright came in first in the primary with 15,077 (19.2%) votes to Ellzey's 10,865 (13.8%) and Sanchez's 10,518 (13.4%). On Sunday, May 2, 2021, Sanchez conceded the race to Ellzey. Since no candidate received a majority, the top two candidates, Wright and Ellzey, proceeded to a runoff.

Runoff

A runoff was held on July 27 between Susan Wright and Jake Ellzey. In the campaign prior to the runoff, Wright relied heavily on Trump's endorsement in order to further her candidacy, but was considered to have run a poor campaign. The

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...

spent heavily in the runoff, buying US$1.2 million in advertisements that supported Wright and attacked Ellzey. The heavily negative tone taken by the Club for Growth ads towards Ellzey frustrated many Republican officials, some of whom backed Ellzey in protest. Ellzey's campaign also engaged in strategies that were suspected as being designed to appeal to Democrats, with him declaring himself a "champion of

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

" in text messages to Democratic-leaning potential voters, as well as noting that Wright was endorsed by former president

. Defending Main Street, a

Super PAC Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...

that was supporting Ellzey, targeted Democrats with advertisements, but Ellzey himself denied that he was specifically targeting Democrats, instead claiming that his statements were designed to be bipartisan.

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Susan Wright vs. Jana Sanchez

Results

By county

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Official websites of candidates
Jake Ellzey (R) for Congress

Susan Wright (R) for Congress
{{2021 United States elections 2021 06 Special Texas 06 Special United States House of Representatives 06 Special United States House of Representatives 2021 06