Who Is Rev. Frederick Haynes III, The Pastor In The Running To Represent Texas’ 30th Congressional District?
Dr. Rev. Frederick Haynes III, the longtime pastor of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, has won the Democratic primary to represent Texas’ 30th Congressional District, the seat Crockett currently holds. The primary election took place on March 3, with Haynes securing 72.6% of the vote, according to poll data obtained by CBS News. Crockett’s term in the U.S. House is set to end on Jan. 3, 2027.
Given the district’s strong Democratic tilt, he is widely expected to win the general election on Nov. and head to Congress next year, according to reports. Texas’ 30th Congressional District is considered one of the most reliably Democratic seats in the state. According to the Cook Political Report, the district carries a D+25 rating on its Partisan Voting Index—meaning it votes 25 percentage points more Democratic than the nation as a whole, CBS News reports.
Shortly after the results came in on March 4, Jasmine Crockett took to Instagram to congratulate her pastor on the victory, sharing a video message celebrating the win following her concession in the Texas Democratic Senate race.
“Let me send mad love to my pastor, Pastor Freddie Haynes, who will be the congressman for Texas 30,” Jasmine Crockett said with excitement.
Who is Rev. Frederick Haynes III?
In 1983, Dr. Haynes answered the call to serve as Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church. Over the decades, the church has grown significantly in both membership and ministry, with over 13,000 members, and has expanded its impact across the Dallas community and beyond, according to the Friendship-West Baptist Church website.
A Dallas native, Dr. Haynes has led Friendship-West Baptist Church for more than 40 years. The 65-year-old, known for his powerful preaching, has used his pulpit not only to share the gospel but also to advocate for racial justice. Throughout his ministry, he has also championed economic empowerment for Black and Brown communities that have historically faced systemic disenfranchisement.
In February, Dr. Haynes shared on Instagram why he decided to run for Congress, explaining that he felt called to continue a tradition of leadership focused on service and community.
“I felt the call of the community saying to me that it’s time for you to step up and fight the good fight, but this time in Washington and not just speaking truth to power at Washington, but also I’m running because of the call of conscience,” he explained.
“In light of all this going on in this nation that is really impacting the whole world, it’s time to speak truth to power while in power. I heard from the community,” he continued. “Also felt the pricking of my own conscience, saying it’s time to step up. And in light of all of that, I’m running for Congress, because, number one, there is a strong need to ensure economic justice that results in economic security for all.”
He’s an activist beyond the pulpit
A committed activist, Dr. Haynes has built alliances with local and national community leaders as well as city, county, state, and federal officials to confront social injustice, domestic violence, and poverty. He has also partnered with the Center for Responsible Lending to challenge economic predators in Texas and across the nation who engage in predatory lending practices. During the Obama presidential administration, Dr. Haynes was frequently invited to the White House to participate in conversations on major national issues, including the state of the economy, voting rights, civil rights, and reparations.
In 2023, Dr. Haynes addressed a group of supporters on Aug. 25, 2023, on the eve of the Rally and March commemorating the 60th anniversary of the historic March on Washington. The HR-40 Strategy Group had convened a gathering of reparations advocates at the gates of the White House to urge President Biden to immediately create the HR-40 Commission by executive order, to develop a reparations proposal for Black Americans. During his remarks, Dr. Haynes highlighted the moral and historical connection between reconciliation and repair.
“Redemption, repentance, and reparation are connected,” he told a crowd of HR-40 supporters outside the White House, according to a video shared by IBW21st. They’re connected because this is a country that was born in the Sin of a hostile genocidal takeover of indigenous land and shaped by anti-black white supremacy this is a country that’s spent in the aftermath of emancipation decades plundering black communities and ensuring that we were economically exploited.”
In 2003, Dr. Haynes co-founded the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference alongside Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and Dr. Iva E. Carruthers, and he currently serves as co-chairman of the board. The conference is a national organization of pastors, activists, and community leaders committed to social justice by nurturing, sustaining, and mobilizing the African American faith community. It also works in collaboration with civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders to address critical issues of human and social injustice at the local, national, and global levels.
Beyond advocacy and leadership, Dr. Haynes has also led humanitarian and educational initiatives through his church. In 2010, following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, he traveled to the country, and Friendship-West Baptist Church adopted a village. The effort helped establish fresh water resources through the construction of wells.
A lifelong learner and strong advocate for education, Dr. Haynes has guided Friendship-West Baptist Church in donating more than $1 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The church has also provided more than two million dollars in scholarship aid to students from both its congregation and the broader Dallas community. In 2023, he became the president of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson’s iconic Rainbow Push Coalition.
Dr. Haynes graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco before continuing his studies at Bishop College in Dallas, Texas. He graduated with honors in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and English. While at Bishop College, he also joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.
He later earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996. In 2005, he received a Doctor of Ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation, where he studied at Christ Church, Oxford University, in Oxford, England.
In 2022, Dr. Haynes was awarded the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Presidential Lifetime Achievement Leadership Award in Community Service by former President Joe Biden.
During the campaign, Dr. Haynes made it clear that he viewed his candidacy as a continuation of the tone set by Jasmine Crockett in the U.S. House, one rooted in confronting the Trump presidency and challenging Republicans in Congress.
“Jasmine showed us to clap back at injustice, clap back at racism, white supremacy, toxic masculinity. And so my thing is, this election is our time rolling to clap back against injustice and clap back against the land of political violence and lying from a pathological liar,” said Dr. Haynes, according to the Grio.
If elected in November, Dr. Rev. Frederick Haynes III would join a long legacy of Black pastors who have served in Congress, including U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and former Representatives Adam Clayton Powell.
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