Nehls will go on to face the Democratic nominee, Sri Preston Kulkarni, in what is anticipated to be a heated general election campaign.
With Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX-22) retiring, Democrats see the open seat as an opportunity to win the district that has only been held by their party for two terms since 1976.
Besides the race for the U.S. Senate, the Republican primary in TX-22 drew the most money out of all Texas federal races, due largely to the considerable self-funding of Wall.
As of the last financial filing before the runoff, Wall had poured nearly $7.5 million into her own campaign.
Those financial resources undoubtedly helped propel her to the runoff ahead of a wide field of candidates, including Pierce Bush, the grandson of George H.W. Bush.
Meanwhile, Nehls relied heavily on his local name recognition, having held his position as county sheriff for eight years in the county where most of the district’s population is located.
He received 40 percent of the vote in March, and Fort Bend voters returned to the polls yesterday to give him a wide lead over Wall.
“Now we have a new chapter; now it’s about November,” Nehls told a room full of supporters on Tuesday evening.
“And what we all should be concerned about is November, with the extreme left trying to destroy this country. We can’t allow it to happen. So I’m asking each and every one of you to stay with me [. . .] the next three to four months with this election. Because I’m telling you, we can do this.”
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
