Condolences to his friends and family.
Rep. Ron Wright
U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, an Arlington Republican, has died.
His campaign staff announced the news Monday. Wright had lived for years with cancer and was diagnosed with COVID-19 in January. He was 67.
“His wife Susan was by his side and he is now in the presence of their Lord and Savior,” the statement said. “Over the past few years, Congressman Wright had kept a rigorous work schedule on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and at home in Texas’ Congressional District 6 while being treated for cancer. For the previous two weeks, Ron and Susan had been admitted to Baylor Hospital in Dallas after contracting COVID-19.”
Wright was diagnosed with lung cancer in late 2018, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He was previously hospitalized in mid-September.
Wright was in his second term in the U.S. House, but he was no stranger to Congress or local politics. A fan of bow ties, Wright was a fixture in the Tarrant County political scene. In the late 1990s, Wright was a columnist for the Star-Telegram. In 2000, he shifted to the political arena to serve as former U.S. Rep. Joe Barton’s district director and as an at-large member of the Arlington City Council through 2008. From 2004-08, Wright held the post of mayor pro tempore.
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The district is historically Republican, but Democrats made some effort to challenge the district in the last two cycles. Even so, Wright won reelection by a 9-percentage-point margin in 2020.
There will be a special election at some point for this seat, and it should be pretty competitive. CD06 was carried by Trump by a 51-48 margin in 2020; Joe Biden’s performance there closely matches Beto’s 48% in 2018. Trump had won CD06 by a 54-42 margin in 2016, so this was a big shift in the Dem direction, with Tarrant County leading the way. CD06 was low on the Dem target list in 2020, but I expect it to get a lot more attention in 2021. If this develops as a D versus R runoff, look for a lot of money to be spent on it.
That’s for another day. Today we mourn the passing of Rep. Ron Wright. May he rest in peace.
Let’s get to the point here, right? Flip this district and whatever about a 69 year old man with cancer and died of covid. I don’t know who the guy is, but I feel sorry for his family. More so because campaigns are going to go after his seat like the vultures they are and this guy is going to be stepped over like the comments above. “May he rest in peace” coming as an after thought after an entire report on voting research about how voters performed in Terrant county.
This guy is a person, and he has a family. This should overshadow any type of politics.
So why did you add to the drama, David?
David,
What I am most upset about is the “whatever”…could it have been any more mean-spirited?
Well, first, condolences to the guy’s family. Being ravaged by cancer and the subsequent chemo treatments probably destroyed his immune system, so he was vulnerable to all sorts of illnesses easily survived by others. Having said that, it’s not “his” seat, it’s the people’s seat, that he occupied, hopefully on behalf of his constituents.
I wasn’t offended by Kuff’s analysis, although I can understand David’s concern, that the body is hardly even cold yet.
I live in TX-6, and Ron Wright has been part of Arlington, since I moved here. Lung cancer and then COVID is just heartbreaking. My sympathies to his friends and family, particularly to his wife, who is also battling COVID herself.
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