A single day of cascading campaign announcements threw a prominent Baptist pastor into a race for the U.S. House of Representatives Dec. 8.
Frederick Haynes III, pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, filed to run for Texas’ 30th Congressional District — one the newly redrawn districts pushed by Texas Republicans at the request of President Donald Trump. This district, which encompasses central Dallas and the southern sector of Dallas and Grand Prairie, is one of only two redrawn districts in the DFW Metroplex considered safe for Democrats.
Freddie Haynes (Screenshot)
The current occupant of that House seat, Jasmine Crockett, filed the same day to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn. In the Democratic primary, she will face James Talarico, a Presbyterian minister who has strong headwinds already.
Crockett entered the Senate race on the same day a former Baylor University football star, Colin Allred, withdrew from the race and announced he will run instead for the U.S. House in District 32, the other redrawn district most likely to elect a Democrat. The current occupant of that seat, Marc Veasey, lives in Fort Worth, which is no longer inside the boundaries of the district.
Before Monday, Veasey reportedly was planning to run in the 30th District — currently represented by Crockett — but apparently instead will run for the post of Tarrant County judge. That role currently is held by Christian nationalist and Republican firebrand Tim O’Hare, who is a declared culture warrior for the Religious Right.
Veasey’s last-minute pivot opened the door for Haynes to run for the 30th Congressional District.
Monday was the deadline for candidates to file for the 2026 mid-terms.
Among Haynes’ registered opponents in the Democratic primary is another lesser-known pastor, Rodney LaBruce, who also works as a financial advisor. It is not clear whether LaBruce currently serves a church as pastor.
Haynes has one of the highest national profiles of any Black Baptist pastor in America. In addition to leading the 13,000-member church in South Dallas — Crockett is one of his church members — he has been heavily involved in politics and social justice causes.
This will be his first run for public office. Last year, he briefly took over leadership of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition but resigned that post three months later. Haynes and his church were involved in the New Baptist Covenant project, where they partnered with Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, a flagship church of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
James Talarico
Haynes is a Dallas native who was raised in San Francisco, where his father was pastor of the historic Third Baptist Church. However, his father died when Haynes was 14, on his first day of high school. After that, the young man encountered many difficulties, including discouragement from teachers. Nevertheless, he was one of three valedictorians upon graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School.
Haynes then returned to Dallas, where he attended Bishop College and earned a bachelor of arts degree in religion and English. In 1996, he earned a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, followed in 2005 by a doctor of ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.
In 2003, Haynes joined Jeremiah Wright and Iva Carruthers to found the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, a national organization of pastors, activists and community leaders committed to social justice through the African American faith community in collaboration with civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders.
The current U.S. Congress includes five ordained ministers (three in the House and two in the Senate), with the most prominent of those being Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, pastor of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Crockett, who has become a favorite target of Trump’s ridicule, is a Baptist layperson. She announced her campaign for Senate during a rally held at Friendship-West Baptist Church on Monday. Haynes introduced her, saying she is “that sister who stands 10 toes down for what is right in the face of what is wrong. I love it because of the fact that the Republicans used racism to draw her out of her own district but what they intended for evil God has used for good.”
A progressive Christian faith no doubt will be a highlight of the Democratic primary as she faces Talarico, a Presbyterian minister who earned a master’s degree in theological Studies from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and currently is working toward a master of divinity degree.
Like Crockett, Talarico’s messages — he has become a social media sensation — often focus on faith and the teachings of Jesus.