Ron Wright (politician)

Ronald Jack Wright[1] (born April 8, 1953) is an American Republican politician from the state of Texas. He is the member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 6th district.

Ron Wright
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 6th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byJoe Barton
Personal details
Born
Ronald Jack Wright

(1953-04-08) April 8, 1953
Cherokee County, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Texas at Arlington
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and education

Wright was born on April 8, 1953, in Cherokee County, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington for two years, studying History, Psychology, and Political Science.[2][3]

Career

Wright served on the Arlington City Council from 2000 to 2008 and as mayor pro-tem of Arlington from 2004 to 2008.[4] He then served as chief of staff and district director for Congressman Joe Barton from 2000 to 2009. Wright was appointed Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector in 2011, serving until 2018.[5][6]

Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector

In 2014, Ron Wright's office added the motto "In God We Trust" to its stationary including on tax assessment envelopes and tax statements.[7][8] He defended the move on Fox and Friends by saying, "It helps define us as a people … helps define us as a nation."

In 2018, Wright's office came under scrutiny by KDFW for mistakenly placing a tax lien and bills on the wrong Tarrant County family. In an interview with KDFW's Steve Noviello, Ron Wright repeatedly made false statements about the case.[9]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018 general election

In the 2018 elections, Wright defeated Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 6th congressional district to succeed Barton.[10][11]

Tenure

In June 2019, a video was released by Reproaction, an abortion rights advocacy group, that showed Wright stating women should "absolutely" be punished for performing self-managed abortions, as "they committed murder."[12]

In July 2019, Wright announced he has been diagnosed with lung cancer.[13]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history
Republican primary results[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ron Wright 20,659 45.1
Republican Jake Ellzey 9,956 21.7
Republican Ken Cope 3,527 7.7
Republican Shannon Dubberly 2,880 6.3
Republican Mark Mitchell 2,141 4.7
Republican Troy Ratterree 1,854 4.0
Republican Kevin Harrison 1,768 3.9
Republican Deborah Gagliardi 1,674 3.7
Republican Thomas Dillingham 543 1.2
Republican Shawn Dandridge 517 1.1
Republican Mel Hassell 266 0.6
Total votes 45,785 100.0
Republican primary runoff results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ron Wright 12,747 52.2
Republican Jake Ellzey 11,686 47.8
Total votes 24,433 100
Texas's 6th congressional district, 2018[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ron Wright 135,961 53.1
Democratic Jana Lynne Sanchez 116,350 44.4
Libertarian Jason Harber 3,731 1.5
Total votes 256,042 100.0
Republican hold

References
  1. FEC Donation Report
  2. "About". Representative Ron Wright. December 3, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  3. staff, Ariana Vera, The Shorthorn. "4 UTA alumni run for 3 offices". The Shorthorn. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  4. Perks, Ashley (November 15, 2018). "Texas New Members 2019". TheHill. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  5. Mitchell, Mitch (December 1, 2017). "Ron Wright, former Barton chief of staff, runs for Congress | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  6. Tinsley, Anna M. (November 30, 2017). "Joe Barton re-election U.S House nude photos explicit text sexual harassment texas | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  7. http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "Texas county taxman vows 'In God We Trust' stationary will stay". The Washington Times. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  8. BST, Brownie Marie Mon 4 Aug 2014 20:23. "Texas county tax office adds \'In God We Trust\' to stationery". www.christiantoday.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  9. Tax Collector threatens couple to pay previous home owner's property taxes or lose home, retrieved December 21, 2019
  10. Alana Rocha, Christina Shaman, Justin Dehn and Todd Wiseman (April 18, 2018). "Meet the Texas Republican runoff candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (video)". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved October 11, 2018.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. Kennedy, Bud (May 23, 2018). "Former Joe Barton aide Ron Wright faces Jana Lynne Sanchez | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  12. Adams, Matthew (June 6, 2019). "Should Women be Punished for Having Abortions? 'Absolutely,' Arlington Rep. Ron Wright Says in Video". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  13. Tinsley, Anna M. (July 29, 2019). "Cancer strikes a North Texas congressman, but he says he will stay in D.C. and fight". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  14. "2018 Primary Election Official Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  15. "Texas Election Results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joe Barton		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 6th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Jennifer Wexton		 United States Representatives by seniority
425th		 Succeeded by
Fred Keller
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