Representative Ron Wright, a Texas Republican, passed away Sunday night after battling the coronavirus, making him the first member of Congress to die after contracting the virus.
Wright’s family and spokesperson confirmed his death Monday morning. He was 67 and had been battling cancer as well as the coronavirus when he died. He is survived by his wife Susan and three children.
“Congressman Wright will be remembered as a constitutional conservative. He was a statesman, not an ideologue,” Wright’s office said in a statement. “Ron and Susan dedicated their lives to fighting for individual freedom, Texas values, and above all, the lives of the unborn. As friends, family, and many of his constituents will know, Ron maintained his quick wit and optimism until the very end. Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice.”
Wright represented Texas’s 6th congressional district, which includes parts of Arlington and Fort Worth as well as areas below Dallas. He had been reelected in November.