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Trey Trainor, a longtime GOP operative and former chair of the Federal Election Commission, launched a bid for Texas’ 21st Congressional District on Monday, setting up a competitive Republican primary for the open Central Texas seat.

Trainor, who has decades of experience in Texas’ conservative legal movement, is running to succeed Rep. Chip Roy , R-Austin, who is giving up his seat to run for Texas attorney general. The district is situated in the Hill Country and contains parts of Austin and San Antonio.

Trainor resigned from his seat on the FEC last week after a five-year stint on the commission, which enforces campaign finance and election laws

“Texans de

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