Tarrant County Tax Assessor Ron Wright tells NBC 5 he will run for the 6th Congressional District seat that U.S. Rep. Joe Barton has held for more than 30 years.
Wright said he has resigned his position with the county and plans to file candidacy paperwork in Austin on Friday.
Barton, Texas' most-senior member of Congress, announced Thursday that he won't seek re-election after a nude photo of him circulated online and a Republican activist revealed messages of a sexual nature from him.
Barton, 68, was first elected to Congress in 1984. His retirement means seven of the state's 36 members of Congress aren't seeking re-election.
Barton, who is from Ennis, was the manager of the Republican team that was practicing for a charity congressional baseball game in June when a gunmen opened fire, gravely injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.
