Susan Wright, Jake Ellzey clash in low turnout congressional contest influenced by Donald Trump

MANSFIELD — In the heat of the Texas summer and an unusual time for an election, Republicans Jake Ellzey and Susan Wright are trying to convince voters to show up at the polls and send one of them to represent North Texas in a gridlocked Congress.

The special runoff election to replace the late Ron Wright is Tuesday, and analysts expect an extremely low turnout at a time when many Texans are on vacation, or tuned into other things. Along with those who have escaped the Texas heat for the mountains, lakes or oceans, others are consumed by the Olympics. And, oh yeah, the Dallas Cowboys are in training camp.

“This week and next week is family vacation week,” said former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Neerman, as he vacationed with his family in San Francisco. “Potential voters have so many distractions. It’s not an ideal time to hold an election.”

Susan Wright, Republican candidate for Texas’ 6th Congressional District, greets voters outside a polling location during early voting for a special runoff election on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Arlington. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)(Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)

Low turnout elections are hard to predict, but several factors have emerged as critical in this runoff, which features two Republicans.

Susan Wright, who is Ron Wright’s widow, finished first in the May primary election that featured 23 candidates. She beat Ellzey, a freshman state representative from Waxahachie, by 4,200 votes. Ellzey also sought the seat in 2018, narrowly losing in the GOP primary runoff to Ron Wright.

Wright, 58 and the frontrunner, is expected to be propelled by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, still the unquestioned leader of the GOP. Trump on Wednesday reiterated his backing of Wright and there are rumblings that he’ll have a tele-town hall to help seal the deal for her Monday, election eve.

Ellzey’s challenge is to overcome Trump’s endorsement of Wright, and dent the perception that her work with her late husband makes her his heir apparent. The freshman state lawmaker is also weathering withering attacks from the Club for Growth, the national anti-tax group supporting Wright.

Ellzey, 51, is not without strong support. He’s backed by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a fellow military pilot who sees the Navy combat veteran as a conservative voice who will take care of the nation’s veterans.

The freshman state lawmaker is also endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, who represented District 6 for 34 years. Barton, who hired Ron Wright as his district director and then chief of staff, tossed his support behind Ellzey in part because of the attack ads levied by the Club for Growth.

Congressional District 6 candidate Jake Ellzey speaks to supporters during an evening fundraiser at Legal Draft in Arlington, Texas on July 14,, 2021. (Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor)(Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

“I have a history of service to our country that is based on quiet professionalism, honor and dignity,” Ellzey told The Dallas Morning News. “I think that appeals to everybody in the North Texas area. And in spite of some of the other things that have been out there, I continue with that message of turning this ship around and a better, brighter future for all Americans.”

Wright also has challenges.

While Trump’s backing is more positive than negative in what’s essentially a Republican contest, the former president is a polarizing figure who could drive his enemies to the polls and against Wright.

Wright is trying to cast herself as more than a widow candidate. A Republican activist and member of the state executive committee, she’s viewed in some circles as more credentialed for the job then her husband, the former Tarrant County tax assessor, who was elected to two terms in Congress.

Among others big named politicos, Wright is backed by Sen. Ted Cruz, former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and the Texas Republican Party.

“I’ve got over 30 years of community and professional and civic experience in this district, working with the people that live here,” Wright, who lives in Arlington, told The News. “I love these people. This is my home. I’ve been successful in a lot of areas and want to take the experience I have and the relationships here to Washington.”

Though Wright is the frontrunner, Ellzey has outspent her in the contest. According to Federal Election Commission reports, he raised $1.7 million through July 7. That was $1 million more than Wright. But outside groups, most notably the Club for Growth, have helped Wright. They have spent close to $850,000 against Ellzey records show.

In February Ron Wright, who in November was elected to a second term representing North Texas’ Congressional District 6, died after battling COVID-19 and cancer.

The May election to fill his seat attracted 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent. The primary, unlike anything seen in Texas in decades, was held on a May election ballot with municipal elections, which guaranteed a close to normal turnout, though still small in comparison to November contests.

Trump endorsed Wright at the 11th hour, holding a tele-town hall meeting hosted by the Club for Growth just days before the election. It could have helped Wright finish atop the field. Trump thinks so.

Meanwhile, Ellzey had to fight to make the runoff, narrowly finishing second and ahead of Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez. That made Round 2 an all-Republican affair, which could further depress turnout because Democrats, other than defying Trump, don’t have much reason to show up at the polls.

United States Representative for Texas’ 2nd congresional district Dan Crenshaw speaks about Congressional District 6 candidate Jake Ellzey during an evening fundraiser at Legal Draft in Arlington, Texas on July 14,, 2021. (Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor)(Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

Some of Ellzey’s supporters, though fans of the president, aren’t swayed by Trump’s presence in the race.

“Trump’s endorsement in this race is not important to me,” said Bill Loomis, a retired aviation plant worker from Mansfield. Loomis talked to The Dallas Morning News with his wife, Sandy, inside a Market Street grocery store, after they voted for Ellzey.

One Wright supporter agreed that Trump’s endorsement, though clearly helpful in the district that includes Tarrant, Ellis and Navarro counties, isn’t that critical in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where Wright is better known.

“I’m not so much a Republican as I am a conservative,” said Elsie Davis, a 64-year-old retiree from Arlington. On Friday at a polling place in Arlington, Davis gave Wright a floral arrangement from her garden.

“Years ago, when she was working with (state) Representative Bill Zedler, she helped me with an issue,” Davis said. “She’ll be good in Congress. It has nothing to do with Trump.”

Wright said she was happy for Trump’s support, but knows she’ll need more than that to overcome Ellzey.

“The Trump endorsement helped a lot,” she said, adding that Trump has at least an 80% approval rating with Republican voters. “The Trump endorsement is not easy to get my opponent sought it just as much as I did.”

Susan Wright, Republican candidate for Texas’ 6th Congressional District (left), speaks with Linton Davis of Arlington outside a polling location during early voting for a special runoff election on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Arlington. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)(Elias Valverde II / Staff Photographer)

The special election has been highlighted by negative campaigning and ugly barbs.

The Club for Growth has saturated the district with campaign mailers and video ads that portray Ellzey and anti-Trump, a tool of Democrats and soft on border security. One of the latest mailers features an image of Ellzey with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the backdrop.

Ellzey disputes the charges, and his supporters have blasted Club for Growth leaders and Wright for what they call deceptive, gutter politics.

“Everybody is tired of the divisiveness within our country within our party,” Ellzey said. “I appreciate the good pictures that they put on there for me. That stuff is easily refutable and I’ve been doing that. People are finally fed up. They’ve gotten so outlandish.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has led the charge against the attacks, calling on Wright to denounce the Club for Growth ads and mailers. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, an Ellzey supporter, has also condemned the attacks.

Former Secretary of Energy and governor of Texas from 2000-2015 Rick Perry speaks about Congressional District 6 candidate Jake Ellzey with supporters during an evening fundraiser at Legal Draft in Arlington, Texas on July 14,, 2021. (Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor)(Robert W. Hart / Special Contributor)

Wright said that’s not her role.

“I’ve long thought that the First Amendment is sacred, and they have a right to say what they want to say and I’m not in a position to explain anybody else’s words,” Wright said. “We’re all adults. We’re playing in a grown-up game here, so anything I have to say in this race has been paid for by Susan Wright for Congress or came out of my mouth. I stand by every bit of that.”

Officials at the Club for Growth stand by their ads.

“Susan Wright is a real conservative who has the support of President Trump and many others. Meanwhile, liberal Jake Ellzey has a long record of not showing up to vote, and when he does, too often it’s to vote with Democrats for higher taxes,” said David McIntosh, the group’s president.

Ellzey counters that he has a 97% conservative voting record and has effectively run for Congress and represented his district in Austin during regular and special sessions.

The attacks by the Club for Growth have resonated with some voters.

Davis, the Wright supporter, said she was strongly considering Ellzey, but is now concerned that he’s too liberal.

But Cyndi Bristol, a 65-year-old retired nurse from Mansfield, emerged from a polling place and said she voted for Ellzey. Bristol said the attacks against the Navy pilot are misleading.

“He’s going to be an effective representative for us,” she said. “He has the experience. He’ll be great in Congress.”

Many voters say they’re happy that the District 6 seat will remain under Republican control.

“We had two good candidates,” said Mansfield businessman Phillip Wambsganss (folo), who voted for Ellzey. He said he voted for Ellzey because he’s a “traditional conservative” who will be better at building consensus in Congress.

Retired Arlington resident Susan Ruddy is also happy the seat will remain with a Republican, but voted for Wright.

“She’s the best candidate,” Ruddy said. “She has the experience in has been working in the district for many years.”

Both candidates say they are at peace with their effort.

“It’s been a long grind since February,” Ellzey said. “I feel really good about it, especially with the positive response that we’re getting at the polls.”

For Wright, the memories of her late husband help sustain her on the campaign trail.

“I think about him constantly,” she said. “He’s here. He’s with me.”