23 Texas candidates battle for vacant GOP-held House seat

Nearly two dozen candidates are on the ballot Saturday in the race to fill a vacant House seat in Northern Texas in a district that’s long been held by Republicans but has become increasingly competitive in recent years.

Texas’ Sixth Congressional District -- which covers some southeastern parts of the city of Fort Worth and surrounding suburbs, as well as the exurbs and rural areas south of Dallas -- was once a safely red district. Longtime GOP Rep. Joe Barton represented the district for nearly 35 years. Wright succeeded Barton in 2018 and was reelected in November, but won both times by single digits. At the time, then-President Trump carried the district by just three points over Joe Biden. Of the 11 Republican candidates in the race, a top contender appears to be Wright’s widow, Susan Wright, who’s been endorsed by a healthy list of Texas Republicans and has won the backing of the anti-tax Club for Growth, which has spent six figures to support her bid. This past week, she also landed the endorsement of Trump, who spoke on her behalf and took aim at Biden during Wright’s tele-town hall Thursday night.