Election updates: Ellzey leads Wright in early voting for Texas congressional seat

Jake Ellzey had an early lead over Susan Wright as the two Republicans bid to fill the North Texas congressional seat of late U.S. Rep. Ron Wright.

Susan Wright, Ron Wright’s widow, and Ellzey, a state representative, received the most votes in a May 1 special election that drew 23 candidates. With unofficial early voting totals in for Tarrant County and Ellis County in on Tuesday, Ellzey had 53.4% of the votes to Wright’s 46.6%. The Texas Secretary of State’s office was not yet reporting early voting totals for Navarro County as of 7:10 p.m.

The special election was called after Ron Wright died in February following battles with COVID-19 and cancer.

The two Republicans have been in a contentious race for the seat that covers most of Arlington and Mansfield, and all of Ellis and Navarro counties. Wright, who has received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, has worked to convince voters that she’s the conservative in the race, as Ellzey and some of his top supporters have refuted negative ads from conservative group The Club for Growth.

Trump held a town hall for Wright by phone on the eve of the election. In the call, he said Wright has his “complete and total endorsement” and cheered that a Democrat was knocked out of the race in the first round of voting. Trump highlighted policies Wright would support in Congress, such as shutting down “Joe Biden’s border disaster” and tax cuts.

“She was married to a great gentleman who I knew, Ron Wright, and he was an outstanding member of Congress,” Trump said. “Susan will carry on his legacy and stand up to the radical left and fight for our America first agenda.”

Ellzey has the support of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who served as Energy Secretary under Trump, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston Republican, and former U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, who represented Congressional District 6 for more than three decades.

“Donald Trump couldn’t pick Susan Wright out of a lineup,” Perry recently told “Capital Tonight” on Spectrum News. “He has no idea who she is, has no idea what she believes.”

Ellzey and Wright appealed to voters in videos shared Tuesday morning on Twitter.

From Corsicana in Navarro County, Ellzey, a former Navy fighter pilot, reminded people that “there’s a lot of folks who sacrificed — some are still with us, some aren’t — so that we could all have the right to vote.” Ellzey said he would be traveling the district throughout the day.

Wright was out in Arlington, encouraging people to support her in the race.

“There’s been a lot of people out,” she said. “We’re talking to a lot of voters. Great support out here — come on out.”

If she wins Tuesday, Wright would be the fourth Texas Republican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, joining current North Texas Republican Reps. Kay Granger of Fort Worth and Beth Van Duyne of Irving in Congress.

More than 20,500 people voted early by mail and in person, according to figures from the Texas Secretary of State’s office. More than 63% of those who voted early were from Tarrant County.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.