The longtime pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas has filed to run for Congress in a heavily left-leaning North Texas district that will be vacated by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, as she campaigns for the U.S. Senate.
The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III filed paperwork Monday to seek the Democratic Party nomination in Texas' 30th Congressional District, according to the Houston Chronicle, which cited the filing and gave credit to The Dallas Morning News as first reporting it.
Haynes is Crockett's pastor and supported her past campaigns.
Crockett announced her Senate bid Monday, launching a primary challenge to fellow Democrat James Talarico and setting up a long-shot general election effort against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is seeking reelection and facing a tough 2026 primary against state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Crockett entered the race on the final day of qualifying in Texas.
Friendship-West's website describes Haynes as a pastor and social activist focused on racial injustice, economic justice, and community empowerment.
Haynes also has a national profile from civic and political activism, including a brief tenure leading the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before resigning months later.
The 30th District includes much of Dallas along with parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties. The seat has been reliably Democrat for decades.
But the district's political boundaries remain a major question heading into 2026 after Texas Republicans pursued an unusual middecade congressional map redistricting aimed at improving GOP odds in several metro areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth.
The filing sets up what is expected to be a competitive Democratic Party primary in a district that could be reshaped again by redistricting and the courts.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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