Jake Ellzey
| John Kevin "Jake" Ellzey, Sr. | |
 | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office August 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Wright |
|---|---|
Texas State Representative
for District 10 | |
| In office January 12, 2021 – August 2021 | |
| Preceded by | John Wray |
| Succeeded by | Pending special election |
| Born | January 24, 1970 Amarillo, Texas Reared in Perryton |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Shelby Young Hoebeke Ellzey |
| Children | Two children |
| Residence | Midlothian, Ellis County, Texas |
| Alma mater | United States Naval Academy (Bachelor of Science) |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1992-2012 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Battles/wars | Afghanistan War Iraq War |
John Kevin Ellzey, Sr. , known as Jake Ellzey (born January 24, 1970), is the incoming U.S. Representative for Texas's 6th congressional district. He won a special election runoff on July 27, 2021, having defeated Susan Wright, the widow of the preceding Representative Ron Wright, who died at the start of his second term of the coronavirus in February. Ellzey received 20,782 votes (53.2 percent) to Mrs. Wright's 18,232 (46.9 percent).[1] Ellzey (as was both Ron Wright and his widow) is a Republican; the 6th District (centered around Ellis and Navarro counties, south of Dallas) has been in Republican hands since Phil Gramm switched parties, resigned the seat as a Democrat and successfully ran as a Republican, defeating over a dozen other candidates of both parties without a runoff.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Mrs. Wright. It is unclear if Ellzey is a conservative or a Moderate Republican. He was strongly opposed by the Club for Growth, which urged him to leave the race and endorse Mrs. Wright. Former Governor Rick Perry, who served as Trump's first United States Secretary of Energy, endorsed Ellzey.[2]
Before his election to Congress, Ellzey was a seven-month member of the Texas House of Representatives for the 10th district. Ellzey increased his congressional vote total from the first round of balloting, in which twenty-three candidates were listed on the ballot, by 9,911 votes. Mrs. Wright's final total was only 3,120 votes ahead of her tabulation in the earlier election.[1]
He served in the United States Navy as a fighter pilot with tours in both the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War.[1] In 1992, Ellzey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.[3] After leaving the Navy, he was employed as a private pilot and a civilian consultant. He was a social aide in the George W. Bush White House.[4] From 2012 to 2018, Ellzey was a member of the Texas Veterans Commission.[1]
In 2018, Ellzey trailed fellow Republican Ron Wright in the 6th congressional district primary. At the time he was endorsed by The Dallas Morning News.[5]
He won the state representative post for District 10 on November 3, 2020, in the same election in which Ron Wright won a second term which ended in death three months after the election. Ellzey was assigned in the Texas House to the Energy Resources, Licensing and Administrative Procedure, and Local and Consent Calendars committees.[1]
In November 2023, Representative Ellzey joined sixty-nine other Republicans to vote to establish a new $300 million building to house the FBI.[6]
Born in Amarillo and reared in Perryton in Ochiltree County in the far northern Panhandle, Ellzey's residence is now in Midlothian, a growing suburb in the southern part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The suburb is eleven miles from Waxahachie, the county seat of Ellis County. He is married to the former Shelby Young Hoebeke (born 1979).[7][3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Jake Ellzey. Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved on July 28, 2021.
- ↑ Jake Ellzey faces mounting opposition from right in TX-6 special election, The Texas Tribune, accessed July 28, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rep. Jake Ellzey - Texas State Directory Online. Retrieved on February 8, 2021.
- ↑ Bill Spinks. Forum set for Texas House candidates. Brownwood (Texas) Bulletin. Retrieved on July 28, 2021.
- ↑ We recommend Jake Ellzey in the GOP primary for 6th Congressional District. The Dallas Morning News (February 8, 2018). Retrieved on July 28, 2021.
- ↑ J. D. Rucker (November 9, 2023). Here Is a List of 70 RINOs Who Just Voted to Reward the Weaponized FBI With a Lavish New $300 Million Building. The Liberty Daily.
- ↑ John Ellzey. mylife.com. Retrieved on Juy 28, 2021.
