TRUMP-BACKED REPUBLICAN LOSES IN TEXAS

WASHINGTON Republican voters in Texas have rejected a Donald Trump-backed candidate for Congress, suggesting his influence over the party is waning.

Susan Wright, 54, who was hoping to fill her late husband's seat, was expected to be propelled to victory on the endorsement by the former president. Trump has backed Wright since she entered the race in April, and even held a last-ditch telephone rally for her on

Monday night.

But her defeat to Jake Ellzey, 51, a state politician and former fighter pilot, suggests Trump's support failed to impress Republican voters.

Ellzey held more than 53 per cent of the vote in Texas's 6th congressional district, near Dallas.

“One of things that we've seen from this campaign is a positive outlook, a Reagan Republican outlook, for the future of our country is what the people of the 6th District really, really want,” Ellzey said in a victory speech.

Tuesday's special election was called after Wright's husband, Ron, died in February after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The two candidates had no substantive policy differences, meaning the strength of Trump's appeal had become a defining issue of the race.