Republican ‘fighter’ devoted to community
Ron Wright, a republican congressman from 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 the disease.
“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.
Wright’s office said he will be “remembered as a constitutional conservative. He was a statesman, not an ideologue.”
House republican Leader Kevin Mccarthy called him a “fighter who passionately served his constituents.”
“I was honoured to have met ron before he was a member and saw firsthand how he served his community,” Mccarthy said in a statement.
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.”