Texas GOP Rep. Ron Wright dies of complication from cancer, COVID

Texas Rep. Ron Wright died Sunday night of COVID-19, becoming the first member of Congress to die from complications from the virus, according to several news reports. He was 67.

His family and a spokesperson confirmed Wright's death Monday morning. The congressman also had been battling cancer. 

"Congressman Wright will be remembered as a constitutional conservative. He was a statesman, not an ideologue," said Wright's office in a statement obtained by the Dallas Morning News. "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 had been keeping a vigorous work scheduled before contracting the virus. Two weeks ago Wright and his wife, Susan, were admitted to Baylor hospital in Dallas because of COVID-19 side effects, the newspaper also reported.