John Kevin "Jake" Ellzey Sr. (born January 24, 1970) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the U.S. representative for

Texas's 6th congressional district Texas's 6th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives is in an area that includes Ellis and Navarro counties to the south and southeast of the Dallas/ Fort Worth area plus the southeast corner of Tarrant County. As ...

. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

for the 10th district from January to July 2021. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a fighter pilot, completing tours in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Early life and education

Ellzey was born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Co ...

, and raised in Perryton. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

in 1992. Ellzey was deployed nine times in his 20 years in the Navy before becoming a commercial airline pilot.

Career

Since retiring from the Navy, Ellzey has worked as a pilot for

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the ...

and as a consultant. He was also a social aide in the

White House Office The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The ...

during the Bush administration. From 2012 to 2018, he was one of five commissioners of the Texas Veterans Commission. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Ellzey was an unsuccessful candidate for

. During his campaign, he was endorsed by ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''The Galves ...

''. He placed second in the Republican primary, behind Ron Wright, who won the general election. Ellzey was elected to the

in 2020. He took office on January 12, 2021. He resigned in July 2021 to take his seat in Congress. Governor Greg Abbott set August 31, 2021, as the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

date for the Texas State House of Representatives District 10 seat that Ellzey vacated. Republican Brian Harrison won the seat, defeating the representative who previously held the seat, John Wray.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2021 special

On February 26, 2021, Ellzey announced his candidacy in Texas's 6th congressional district special election to replace Ron Wright, who died in office on February 7. In the 23-candidate

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

, Ellzey finished second to Wright's widow Susan, who had been endorsed by former President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

, and 354 votes ahead of Democrat Jana Sanchez. On May 2, Sanchez conceded to Ellzey. Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 ...

set July 27 as the special election runoff date. Ellzey defeated Wright in the runoff, 53% to 47%. He was sworn in on July 30, 2021.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Veterans Affairs *

Committee on Science, Space and Technology The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete juris ...

Caucus memberships

Republican Main Street Partnership The Republican Main Street Partnership is a 501(c)(4) organization that was allied with the congressional Republican Main Street Caucus. The Partnership continues to exist, while the Caucus was dissolved by its members in February 2019. His ...

Electoral history

2018

2020

Election results:

2021

2021 (runoff)

Personal life

Ellzey and his wife Shelby have two children. They live near Midlothian, Texas.

References

External links

Campaign websiteOfficial House website
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellzey, Jake 1970 births 21st-century American politicians Aviators from Texas Living people Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Military personnel from Texas People from Perryton, Texas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)