Special Elections

GOP's Susan Wright advances to runoff in Texas special election to fill late husband's seat

Republican Susan Wright on Saturday night advanced to a runoff in a Texas special congressional election to fill the House seat of her late husband, former Rep. Ron Wright (R-Tex.), who was battling lung cancer and was diagnosed with COVID-19 before he died in February.

It's still not clear who Wright will face in the runoff, with fellow Republican Jake Ellzey narrowly leading Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez with nearly all the votes in Texas' 6th Congressional District counted, NPR reports.

As CNN notes, the election provides an early look at the future of the GOP as the party settles on a path forward in the wake of former President Donald Trump's tumultuous four years in the White House. Wright, who focused much of her campaign on her husband's legacy, embraced Trump's endorsement and wound up reeling in 19 percent of the vote to lead the field.

Trump actually saw his support in the district drop in the 2020 presidential election, CNN writes, but only one Republican candidate in the crowded field, Michael Wood, campaigned on an anti-Trump message. He received just 3 percent of the vote. Read more at NPR and CNN.