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Rep. Ron Wright, R-Texas, who had received cancer treatment for years, died Sunday after being hospitalized with COVID-19. He was 67.
“His wife Susan was by his side and he is now in the presence of their Lord and Savior,” a statement from his office 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 had announced Jan. 21 that he tested positive for the coronavirus “after coming in contact with an individual with the virus last week.” He is the first sitting member of Congress to die after battling COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“As friends, family, and many of his constituents will know, Ron maintained his quick wit and optimism until the very end. Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice,” his office said.
Wright was reelected to a second term in November. His death will create the fifth special House election of the year so far; campaigning is already underway in three seats vacated or soon to be vacated by Democrats who are joining the Biden administration, and in the 5th district of Louisiana, where Republican Luke Letlow died before taking office.
Letlow, a 41-year-old congressman-elect from Louisiana, died after contracting COVID-19 late last year, days before he was scheduled to be sworn in as a member of Congress.
The race to fill Wright’s vacancy could unfold quickly. Texas law requires special elections to be held 36 to 50 days after the governor orders them. Candidates who file at least 5,000 petition signatures compete in one election, regardless of party; if no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers head to a runoff, regardless of party.
The 6th Congressional District of Texas, which Wright has represented since 2019, has moved toward Democrats since it was drawn 10 years ago. In 2012, Barack Obama lost the district by 17 points; last year, as Democrats invested more in suburban Texas races, Joe Biden lost in the district by just three points. Wright ran ahead of the president, defeating a Democratic opponent by nine points.
Wright’s office said he will be “remembered as a constitutional conservative. He was a statesman, not an ideologue.”
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called him a “fighter who passionately served his constituents.”
“I was honored to have met Ron before he was a member and saw firsthand how he served his community,” McCarthy said in a statement, adding: “He emulated the very best of America, and we were fortunate to have had the opportunity to call him a colleague and a friend.”
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer said in a statement that Wright was a “dedicated public servant who devoted his life to bettering his community.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement that as lawmakers grieve Wright’s death, “Members of Congress are united in sorrow and pray for the families and loved ones of the over 460,000 Americans who have been killed by the vicious coronavirus. Each death is a tragedy that breaks our hearts and demands strong, urgent action.”
“May it be a comfort to Congressman Wright’s wife Susan, their children Rachel, Derek and Justin, and their nine grandchildren, and the entire Wright family that so many mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time,” Pelosi added.