As Democrats gain, some Republicans tout Trump ties in North Texas congressional race

He’s not a candidate, but his name keeps popping up in a North Texas congressional race: Donald Trump.

The special election to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat of the late Ron Wright has drawn a field of 23 candidates spanning the political spectrum. They also range in their feelings about the former president.

The district has remained in the Republican column in recent years, but the margin has narrowed. And as candidates try to navigate the Congressional District 6, some Republicans are taking pains to link themselves to Trump as Democrats work to flip the seat.

“Most of them on the Republican side would love to have an endorsement,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

The district spans southeast Tarrant County, including most of Arlington and Mansfield, and all of Ellis and Navarro counties. Early voting starts April 19 for the May 1 special election, which was called following Wright’s death in February.

“If (Trump) declares on behalf of one of these candidates, that will be important,” Jillson said. “It might not be absolutely decisive, but it will certainly be very important.”

Candidates stress Trump ties

Two former Trump administration officials are among the candidates and have stressed their connections to the former president.

Brian Harrison, a Republican and former chief of staff of the Health and Human Services department under Trump, told the Star-Telegram he wants “to keep the Trump movement alive.” He has touted his work for the administration in advertisements and has sued the Biden administration related to border policy.

Harrison is confident the district’s residents want Trump’s work to be continued in Congress, but he also recognizes that the seat is in play.

“The Democrats absolutely can take this seat over,” Harrison said. “Texans have to focus on the most important thing and that is stopping Joe Biden and stopping the liberals dead in their tracks. My background uniquely... qualifies me for the task at hand.”

Sery Kim served as an assistant administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration under Trump. Kim told the Star-Telegram she would welcome his endorsement, and is regularly reaching out to his political team for his support. But she suspects Trump will put his weight behind a candidate that makes the race interesting for the former president, regardless of whether that person formally requested an endorsement.

She pushed back against the idea that anyone in the race is close with Trump. Kim also said it’s unclear who in the district will show up to the polls come Election Day.

“The biggest question on May 1 is, who is actually going to turn out? Is it going to be the pro-Trump people who are primarily in Ellis, Navarro County?” Kim said. “Or is it going to be the anti-Trump vote? Honestly, no one knows.”

Army veteran Mike Egan received an endorsement from Chris Miller, a former acting Defense Secretary under Trump. In a statement, Miller highlighted Egan’s work for Trump. Egan said he was part of a consulting group working with Trump’s transition team.

Former professional wrestler Dan Rodimer got Trump’s endorsement in his 2020 bid for Congress in Nevada, and points it out on his campaign website.

Jillson pointed out that Susan Wright, wife of Ron, has endorsements from several key party officials, including U.S. Rep. Kay Granger and the Republican Party of Texas. He considers Wright, Harrison and state Rep. Jake Ellzey the front-runners among Republicans.

“They might endorse her, not because she’s the Trump-iest candidate in the field but because she’s already the most likely to win,” he said. “Because they love to brag about how many of their candidates have been successful.”

Asked if she was seeking the former president’s endorsement, Wright praised Trump’s efforts to build a border wall and stop illegal immigration.

“I’d be honored to have his support in this important fight,” Wright said in a statement.

Republican Michael Wood bucks Trump

Michael Wood considers himself a “post-Trump Republican.” He’s a conservative Republican who has become concerned about the direction of the party.

“I think the party has become too much a cult of personalities centered around Donald Trump,” he said. “I think we’ve become a party of conspiracy theories and a party of QAnon and we need again be a party of ideas.”

Wood voted third party in 2016, unable to bring himself to support Trump as commander in chief. In 2020, with Trump doing a better job than he expected and concerned about the state of the Democratic Party, Wood voted for Trump.

Then the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 happened.

“I think that I was in a spot that a whole lot of Republicans were in, feeling like we didn’t really have a choice, which is why I voted the way I did in 2020,” Wood said. “But I think that everything he has done since Election Day has forfeited him the right to ever lead the party again, and we need to move past him.”

Wood doesn’t want Trump’s endorsement and would turn it down were he to get it.

“I think my message is the exact right message for this district,” Wood said. “And I think that a whole lot of people have been very receptive to it. … I think the party as a whole and Republicans within the 6th District are going to get to where I am eventually. They can either get there now or they can get there when we lose in 2022 and 2024, and perhaps beyond that.”

Could the district flip Blue?

Trump won Texas’ 6th Congressional District in 2020 by 3 percentage points. He won by 12 against Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Mitt Romney beat former President Barack Obama by 17 points in 2012.

Tarrant County went for Biden in 2020, whereas Ellis and Navarro Counties went for Trump.

What are the prospects of flipping the district blue?

“I think it’s now or never,” Jillson said, referring to the redistricting on the horizon. “When the Republicans redraw the district boundaries, I will be shocked if they don’t shift CD6 South.”

That would move the district out of the fast-growing Arlington region and into more rural areas that are dependably Republican, he said.

“I would not be running if I didn’t think the district was flippable,” said Jana Lynne Sanchez , who ran for the seat in 2018. “I’ve spent the last four years, pretty much day and night working to register Democrats, engage with Democrats, get them fired up to vote for Democrats in this district.”

Lydia Bean, a Democrat who ran for state House District 93 against Rep. Michael Krause in 2020, believes people are disillusioned with Trump after the storming of the U.S. Capitol. She said voters have a chance to “repudiate the politics of Trump and send these Trump Republicans packing.”

Democrat Shawn Lassiter sees a district “eager to elect someone who will fight for the people at the margins.”

“If we keep focused on working people, we are going to win on May 1st and build the diverse coalition necessary to flip this district,” she said in a statement.

Since the race is a special election, all of the candidates will appear on the same ballot, regardless of party affiliation. The race will almost certainly go into a runoff, given the number of candidates in the field. Jillson said he’d be surprised to see two candidates from the same party in the runoff.

No matter who wins, the race will serve as a barometer.

“Special elections … they’re sort of all we have to measure the temperature of the electorate between major elections,” Jillson said.