Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for over four decades, has emerged as the likely successor to Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Texas’s 30th congressional district. After Crockett vacated the seat to pursue a US Senate bid, progressive activists encouraged Haynes to run, though he initially resisted. He eventually decided to enter the race in December after activists challenged him on theological grounds to pray about the decision. Haynes secured a decisive primary victory and is expected to prevail in next month’s midterm elections.
Haynes, 65, represents what observers describe as a growing movement of religious left candidates seeking to reclaim faith-based politics from what they characterize as dominance by white evangelical Trump allies. The African American pastor advocates for equitable urban planning, a living wage, environmental justice legislation, universal healthcare, and ICE abolition. His political philosophy emphasizes linking personal faith with social responsibility. Over 40 years, he expanded his congregation from 83 to more than 13,000 members and used the church’s resources to address poverty and systemic inequality, including collaborating with California congresswoman Maxine Waters on payday lending reform.
Haynes’s background includes family ties to activism and the civil rights movement. His grandfather, also a pastor, was the first African American to run for San Francisco’s board of supervisors in 1945. His church hosted prominent figures including Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders. Supporters in Dallas and across Texas view his candidacy with enthusiasm. Bean, a retired Baptist minister and criminal justice advocate who has known Haynes since 2006, described him as a “man of action, conviction and deep integrity” and noted his long record of community organizing prior to seeking elected office.
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