Frederick Haynes

Haynes was born in Dallas in 1960 as Frederick Douglass Haynes III.[4] According to his campaign website, he has earned degrees from Bishop College, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Graduate Theological Foundation, and Christian Theological Seminary, where he completed a PhD in African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric in 2025.[2][4][6] He became senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas in 1983, and his campaign website says he grew the congregation from fewer than 100 members to more than 13,000.[2][4] According to the campaign website, he founded the THRIVE Intern and Leadership Program, which provides paid employment and job training for young people, and Friendship-West has invested more than $3 million in historically Black colleges and universities and students.[2]

In 2023 Haynes succeeded the Rev. Jesse Jackson as chief executive officer of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and stepped down about three months later.[3][4] His campaign website says he serves in leadership roles with the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, the Conference of National Black Churches, the National Action Network and the IC3 Church Conference, and is on the board of trustees of Paul Quinn College.[2] He took a medical leave from the pulpit in September 2025 for surgery and returned the following month.[4][3]

Haynes ran for the seat Jasmine Crockett gave up to run for the U.S. Senate.[7] He won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary with 72.6% of the vote over Barbara Mallory Caraway and Rodney LaBruce.[5] His campaign framed his run around justice, opportunity and accountability.[2] He won the November 3, 2026 general election with 82.6% of the vote to Everett Jackson's 17.4%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]