Several sources expect Katrina Pierson to receive former President Trump’s backing when she announces a run for Congress, a huge boost to any candidate running in a Republican primary decided by voters supportive of the “America First” agenda.
Pierson’s first hint that she would run came in an interview with Washington political editor for Breitbart News, Matt Boyle, on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Sunday:
“There is a lot of excitement about my potential candidacy, and I am honored to have so much local support. As a proven conservative fighter, from my home state of Texas, I remain committed to furthering the America First agenda. I was with President Trump long before the historic escalator ride, and I remain with him still. I will make my final decision within the next 48 hours,” Pierson said on Sunday, according to a report.
Sources said Pierson has held advanced conversations with a top Republican consulting firm about plans to enter the race in the coming days:
Pierson is considering a U.S. House seat left vacant by the late Rep. Ron Wright (R-Texas), who succumbed to the coronavirus this year.
Pierson, a Tea Party activist who served as a spokesperson for Trump’s 2016 campaign and as top adviser for his second campaign, will not have the primary to herself.
Susan Wright, a prominent Republican activist and Ron Wright’s widow, also plans to run. Sery Kim, who held a post in the Department of Health and Human Services during the first year of the Trump administration, has announced plans to run. So has State Rep. Jake Ellzey, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, who came within 1,100 votes of beating Wright in a race for an open seat in 2018.
Wright’s former district has voted for Republican presidential candidates in the past, but by increasingly narrow margins. Mitt Romney won the district with almost 58 percent of the vote in 2012. Trump won there with 54 percent in 2016, but he only beat Biden by a 51 percent to 48 percent margin there in 2020.
Pierson and the other candidates who plan to seek Wright’s seat have until Wednesday to formally file paperwork to run. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) issued a proclamation last week declaring Wright’s seat vacant, setting up a May 1 primary election.