Frederick Haynes III

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Frederick Haynes III was born on November 10, 1960, in Dallas. His father, Frederick Haynes Jr., moved the family to San Francisco, where Frederick Haynes Sr. was pastor at Third Baptist Church. Haynes earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bishop College, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation, and as part of his doctoral studies he studied at Christ Church at the University of Oxford.

Career

In 1983, Haynes became senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, where membership grew from 100 to over 13,000. In 2023 he succeeded Jesse Jackson as chief executive officer of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and he stepped down from that position three months later. In September 2025 he took a medical leave of absence from the church to undergo surgery, returning the following month.

2026 race

Frederick Haynes III is running for a 30th district seat that is open in 2026. Before redistricting the seat was held by Democrat Jasmine Crockett, who was drawn into the 33rd district and ultimately decided to run for the U.S. Senate.

The new district is anchored in southern Dallas, including South Dallas and Fair Park, and extends to suburbs such as Lancaster, Duncanville, DeSoto and Cedar Hill.

Haynes won the March 3, 2026, Democratic primary with 72.6% of the vote, defeating former state representative Barbara Mallory Caraway and pastor Rodney LaBruce.

In the November 3, 2026, general election he faces Republican Everett Jackson, a business owner who won his party's nomination in a runoff against attorney Sholdon Daniels with 57.5% of the vote.