Former Federal Election Commissioner Trey Trainor, who resigned from his role at the agency last week, has announced a congressional campaign to replace Rep. Chip Roy in Texas.
“Texans deserve a proven conservative who will fight for their values, secure our border, rein in wasteful spending and defend our freedoms,” Trainor said in a statement. “I’m ready to bring my experience from Austin and Washington to Congress and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with President Trump to put America First.”
Trainor, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, is running to succeed Roy, who is leaving Congress to mount a run for Texas attorney general. Tainor resigned last week from his seat on the FEC, leaving the body two members short of operational. The six-member body responsible for enforcing the country’s election laws lost its quorum in April, and the president has yet to appoint any new members.
Trainor joins an already crowded primary race, including former MLB All-Star Mark Teixeira, former county GOP chairman Mike Wheeler and former nominee for county district attorney Daniel Betts.
In an interview with NOTUS, Trainor said he’s heard from “many friends in the White House” who are happy about him entering the race.
“I think state Republicans, too, are really eager to get behind a candidate they know can deliver on President Trump’s promises,” Trainor told NOTUS.
Trainor’s connections to the Trump administration go back to at least 2016, when he served as general counsel to the Republican National Convention platform committee, helping secure Trump’s nomination. Trump nominated him to the FEC in 2017, but he wasn’t confirmed by the Senate until 2020.
“Donald Trump is just an incredible campaigner, and watching him every day on the campaign trail … he’s an energizer bunny, and I hope to bring that same energy to my campaign,” Trainor said.