Dallas-based attorney and former Texas legislative staffer, Abel Mulugheta, announced on Wednesday, on Oct. 26, that he will be running for the Texas Congressional District 30.
Mulugheta, who revealed he filed the necessary paperwork to run for the position a day after Gov. Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law, said he would be honored to continue his public service to the district’s residents.
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson currently holds the seat and has not yet announced if she will seek re-election next year. Should Johnson, after fifteen 2-year terms representing the district, not run for re-election, Mulugheta may face numerous primary contenders vying for the position.
Jane Hamilton is one of the many potential candidates who could challenge Mulugheta if Johnson does not run. According to the Dallas Morning News, Hamilton has formed an exploratory committee to gauge a run for Congress if Johnson does not seek re-election.
Hamilton’s committee includes prominent donors Kneeland Youngblood, Aimee Boone Cunningham, and Naomi Aberly. The Rev. Frederick Haynes III of Friendship-West Baptist Church chairs her civic committee while Jill Louis, a Dallas lawyer and a business consultant, chairs her finance committee.
In a press release, Hamilton said she wants to make sure she is ready to fight for the district in Washington if Johnson does not seek re-election.
Mulugheta interned at Johnson’s district office in Dallas after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. After obtaining his law degree from Southern Methodist University, he served as chief of staff, general counsel, and legislative director for Texas House Rep. Rafael AnchÃa (D-Dallas).
“As a public servant working as a legislative staffer, it has been an honor to serve the residents of Dallas County over the past seven years,” Mulugheta said in a news release. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of my neighbors in Congressional District 30, hear their stories, struggles, and successes, and in return, share mine.”
Mulugheta, in his press release, said his campaign will focus on “issues that matter most to the residents of TX-30, increasing access to affordable healthcare, ensuring a fair economy with good-paying jobs, and defending our democracy.”
Texas’s 30th congressional district includes part of Dallas and Tarrant Counties and the cities of Cedar Hill, Dallas, and DeSoto.
U.S. House district elections will be conducted in November 2022 all over the country.
