As I have previously mentioned I was lucky enough to be selected as an intern for the Congressional race TX 22. I have known the Republican nominee Troy Nehls for almost two decades and grew up really with him first being the Constable in our area and then the Sheriff of Fort Bend County. Sheriff Nehls has been a great friend of our family and while he could not attend my Eagle Scout Court of Honor due to being deployed overseas to Afghanistan his twin brother (who I also have known for 20 years) was there.
Some backstory about Sherrif Nehls
When Hurricane Harvey made landfall the second time in the Houston area Sheriff Nehls left emergency headquarters to help on the search and rescue boats. He made huge news in Houston over his insistence of rescuing a who was dog treading water while being chained to a stake. The owners left due to manitory evaucaition but left the poor animal not only to fend for itself but attached to a chain. When asked about this rescue by reporters he made and kept the promise that once the owners returned home he would make a personal visit to their house to discuss what they had done to their own animal. Before his lawenforcement career he spent time in the armed forces serving in the Army and continuing to serve as he began his law enforcement career.
The Race
When Sheriff Nehls first launched his campaign he was the favorite however he did face some rather big people that he was able to defeat. In the primary he faced a grandson of George H.W. Bush, Pierce Bush, who he was able to easily beat in the primary. He was not able to secure the nomination outright though due to Texas law mandating that at least 50% of the vote must be for the winner and he only captured 40.5%. The runoff was against a lady named Kathleen Wall who had only secured 19.4% but was the second place finisher. In the run off Sheriff Nehls won easily with 70% of the votes.
The Rally
It was after this that I was able to join the campaign and this last Friday we had a fairly significant rally. While it was initially not told to people I found out who the guest from Washington D.C. was going to be. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was the special guest and I initially was iffy on how this would go. Politicans are well we all know how they are and so meeting and listening to a person of this caliber was a unique moment for me. I was completely blown away with how he handled himself and ever single person he interacted with. He was one of the kindest most caring individuals I have ever met. He took the time to talk and take photos with everyone who came up and wished to.
The most important thing though and something I feel that is lost currently in both politics and society was his compassion. Friday was also the day the United States Supreme Court and really the US lost Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also known as RBG. While acknowledging that they had many different views on things he said nothing but great things about Justice Ginsburg. He highlighted all of the things she accomplished and how much she had inspired girls everywhere and it was a loss. This was something I thought was just so amazing especially in the current climate today, he highlighted how good she was as a person and her unquantifiable role as an inspiration to young girls everywhere.
This was the first ever political rally I had worked and while yes the rally went smoothly I was so very impressed with Sheriff Nehls and his call for unity to make this county and country a better place. He and Leader McCarthy both called for citizens to come together to put aside differences and unify to beat COVID so that life for everyone can return more and more to normal. It was a super refreshing thing to see done by politicians and it is something no matter what party you support or don't can do to help out both yourself and everyone around you.
