Dallas pastor Frederick Haynes, known for praising Louis Farrakhan as a “great” man and criticizing Israel one day after the Hamas October 7 terror attacks, has entered the race to replace Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Texas’s 30th Congressional District. The race gained immediate national attention after Haynes filed paperwork Monday, shortly after Crockett launched her Senate bid.
Haynes, the longtime pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, appeared at Crockett’s Senate kickoff and praised her leadership, saying, “She’s the baddest sister out there.” Crockett has repeatedly called Haynes her mentor, and her frequent appearances at Friendship-West signal his strong position in the race. Like Crockett, Haynes has built a reputation for inflammatory remarks.
In 2019, Haynes posted a photo with Farrakhan and called him a “wonderful and great man.” Farrakhan has described Adolf Hitler as a “great man.” Haynes’s mentor is Jeremiah Wright, who famously shouted “God [expletive] America” in a sermon during Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Haynes echoed that same combative style on Oct. 8, 2023—just one day after Hamas’s attack on Israel—declaring, “I recognize that we gotta be pro-Israel… Well, I’m coming to get in trouble.” He then accused the United States of siding with Israel “on the side of apartheid.”
Haynes pointed to Crockett in the audience and said, “I hope they don’t use this against you in the future,” before praising her: “You be goin’ in girl, I got it from you.”
Haynes also faced controversy in 2009 when his former assistant sued Friendship-West, alleging he fired her over an affair involving Wright and because she was the only white and Hispanic employee. The church settled the case in 2010.
His political ties stretch across the Democratic Party. Then–vice president Kamala Harris highlighted her work with Haynes in 2023, and Colin Allred made multiple campaign stops at Friendship-West, including a voter registration event.
