In Texas special election, Jake Ellzey defeats candidate endorsed by Trump

Texas state Rep. Jake Ellzey (R) is the projected winner of the special election runoff in Texas' 6th Congressional District.

With nearly all precincts reporting their results on Tuesday night, Ellzey has 53 percent of the vote, defeating fellow Republican Susan Wright. Wright's late husband, Rep. Ron Wright, represented the 6th Congressional District until his death from COVID-19 in February.

Susan Wright had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who also recorded a robocall for her. Trump carried the district in 2016 by 12 points, but in 2020 won by just three points.

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Ellzey wasn't backed by Trump, but did have the support of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas). In his victory speech, Ellzey said it is "essential that we get this right. It's essential that we do it as Americans united, instead of Americans divided; Republicans united instead of Republicans divided, so once we take back the House and Senate in '22 and take back the White House in 2024, we take back our country."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.