Jake Ellzey wins Texas special election runoff, CNN projects

The Republican overcame former President Donald Trump's endorsement of his opponent, Republican Susan Wright, to claim victory. Wright is the widow of the late Rep. Ron Wright, who had cancer and died in February after contracting Covid-19.

Despite not having Trump's support, Ellzey was backed by some major Texas Republicans, including former Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, and was able to raise about a million dollars more than Susan Wright. The former Navy fighter pilot also actively sought the support of Trump's supporters. He released a video titled "Trump Supporters Love Jake Ellzey" and attended Trump's and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border visit last month.

Ellzey's victory comes on his second attempt to win the seat. He previously ran in 2018 but lost the GOP primary to Ron Wright.

Tuesday's runoff follows an all-party "jungle primary" in May in which none of the 23 candidates won a majority of the vote. Susan Wright and Ellzey finished first and second, with a Democrat coming third and narrowly missing the runoff.

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