Army Veteran Makes Emotional Pitch In Attempt To Flip Blue Texas District Back To Red

Army veteran and Houston-area businessman Wesley Hunt announced on Tuesday that he will be running on the Republican ticket for Texas’s 7th Congressional District after it flipped blue in 2018.

“When the towers fell on 9/11, I was a sophomore at West Point. On that fateful day, my classmates and I knew we’d be called to fight in America’s war on terror,” Hunt said in his campaign ad. “When I flew Apaches over Iraq, I was guided by three words: duty, honor, country. The men and women that I served with didn’t focus on things that divided us, but were bonded together by a shared mission that was larger than ourselves.”

“We need more of this spirit in Washington and that is why I am running for Congress,” he continued. “With a new generation of leadership, we can secure our border, strengthen our economy and put our financial house in order. We live in the greatest nation in the world and it is time for our leaders in Washington to act like it.”

Hunt will be challenging freshman Democrat Rep. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher who narrowly beat out nine-term incumbent Republican Rep. John Culberson in Nov. 2018. Fletcher and Culberson were neck-and-neck for the duration of their campaigns, however, she ultimately edged out a victory by just over 12,000 votes.

While former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the 7th district during the 2016 presidential election, it has traditionally been a red enclave with more affluent, Bush-style Republicans.

House Minority Kevin McCarthy helped to recruit Hunt to run for the district and has been a vocal supporter of the Army veteran.

“He fits the district very well,” McCarthy told the Morning Report. “He’s got a young family, just had his first child, a daughter, and this is a man who believes in service, understands the district well and is a natural-born leader.”

“Duty, honor, country — these three words guided me in battle,” Hunt said. “That’ll be my north star in Congress.”