Texas GOP lawyer and former FEC chair Trey Trainor announces run for Chip Roy’s seat in Congress

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Trey Trainor, a longtime GOP operative and former chair of the Federal Election Commission, launched a bid for Texas’ 21st Congressional District on Monday, setting up a competitive Republican primary for the open Central Texas seat.

Trainor, who has decades of experience in Texas’ conservative legal movement, is running to succeed Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, who is giving up his seat to run for Texas attorney general. The district is situated in the Hill Country and contains parts of Austin and San Antonio.

Trainor resigned from his seat on the FEC last week after a five-year stint on the commission, which enforces campaign finance and election laws

“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, who lives in Driftwood, a small community southwest of Austin in Hays County, is entering a crowded Republican primary that has already drawn seven declared candidates and could still see more entries. While he has the most national political experience of the existing field, he will have to contend with at least one other big-name candidate: former Texas Rangers and New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, who launched his campaign in late August.

The Trump-aligned lawyer has worked for some of the biggest names in Texas Republican politics over his career. Trainor worked on the 2003 congressional redistricting effort — which drew out several Democratic incumbents — as a legislative aide. And he has represented the conservative organization Empower Texas in their battles against the Texas Ethics Commission to keep from disclosing their donors.

He went on to serve as general counsel to the Texas Secretary of State and the Republican Party of Texas, and then as a lawyer on then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign.

During the 2016 election, Trainor supported Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and then offered legal support to Trump’s campaign. He was general counsel to the Republican National Convention platform committee, helping secure Trump’s successful nomination on the convention floor.

After a brief stint at the Department of Defense, Trump nominated him to the FEC in 2017, though he was not confirmed by the Senate until 2020.

Roy has represented the district since 2019. Other candidates include Teixeira, former Kendall County GOP chairman Mike Wheeler and former Travis County district attorney nominee Daniel Betts. San Antonio area Republicans including Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody and City Councilman Marc Whyte have also expressed interest in running for Congress.

Disclosure: Texas Secretary of State has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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