District 22: Troy Nehls, Kathaleen Wall in runoff for GOP ticket; Sri Preston Kulkarni wins Dem ticket

Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni (left) won his party's nomination for Texas District 22. Troy Nehls (middle) and Kathaleen Wall (right) will be in a May 26 runoff election for the GOP ticket. (KPRC)

HOUSTON – A major race to watch on Super Tuesday is the race for Texas Congressional District 22 that covers most of Fort Bend County. The seat will soon be vacated by Republican Rep. Pete Olson who chose to not run for reelection.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and conservative activist Kathaleen Wall are headed for a May 26 runoff election to determine who will win the party ticket for District 22 race in November.

Recommended Videos



Troy Nehls said he was “overwhelmed with joy.”

“I’ve been in this county serving you for the past 25 years, in various law enforcement roles, from constable for 8 years, to last 8 years as sheriff,” Nehls said. “I made some promises, I said we are going to go into the sheriff’s office and change the culture the way we were doing business. I have kept those promises and I hope I have not let you down as your sheriff.”

On the Democratic side, former foreign-service officer Sri Preston Kulkarni, who lost to Olson by just five points in 2018, faces two other challengers hoping for the Democratic ticket.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that we are going to be successful, but I really am proud, ecstatic about the fact that inclusion won today because we are running the most inclusive campaign across the country,” Kulkarni said at a watch party Tuesday night. “We had 21 languages, reaching out to women who were registered but never voted in their lives, we reached out to all groups that have been ignored before, today was a victory for inclusion, last year we came in first place, but this year we had an even bigger margin because we were even more inclusive.”

Learn more about each candidate here.

See the results of the Texas Primary below:

Republican

Candidate

Votes

%

Troy Nehls (R)
29,56540%
Kathaleen Wall (R)
14,15819%
Pierce Bush (R)
11,25815%
Greg Hill (R)
10,28014%
Dan Mathews (R)
2,1632%
Bangar Reddy (R)
1,1441%
Joe Walz (R)
1,0341%
Shandon Phan (R)
7701%
Diana Miller (R)
7671%
Jon Camarillo (R)
7180%
Douglas Haggard (R)
3950%
Howard Steele (R)
2830%
Matt Hinton (R)
2740%
Brandon T. Penko (R)
960%
Aaron Hermes (R)
910%
100% of Reporting

(1,242 / 1,242)

Democrat

Candidate

Votes

%

Sri Preston Kulkarni (D)
34,57953%
Derrick A. Reed (D)
16,10024%
Nyanza Davis Moore (D)
9,43514%
Carmine Petrillo III (D)
5,0657%
100% of Reporting

(1,242 / 1,242)

Among those vying for the Republican ticket was political newcomer Peirce Bush, grandson of President George H.W. Bush and nephew of President George W. Bush. He was the first member of his family to lose a race in Texas in more than 40 years.