AUSTIN, Texas — Jenny Garcia Sharon beat fellow Republican candidate Rod Lingsch in Tuesday’s primary runoff to become the party’s candidate for the newly created U.S. House District 37.
Sharon, who won 59% of the vote to Lingsch’s 41% as of 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, will face Democratic candidate and current District 35 Rep. Lloyd Doggett in the Nov. 8 general election.
District 37 is in the heart of Austin, stretching from the Hays County border up to Pflugerville. It was created after Texas gained two new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives thanks to the state’s explosive growth.
Doggett’s current District 35 seat will be up for grabs in November, with former Austin Councilmember Greg Casar (D) hoping to take Doggett’s place in the safely Democratic district.
Sharon faces an uphill battle in strongly Democratic District 37, which President Joe Biden would have won by 53 percentage points in 2020.
It’s not the first time Sharon has run against Doggett. Sharon was the Republican candidate for U.S. House Texas District 35 in 2020, but lost to Doggett in the general election, with 30% of the vote to Doggett’s 65%.
Lingsch served in the U.S. Air Force and worked as a corporate pilot.
“I feel compelled to run for office because America has become so divided, and our elected officials are the reason why,” Lingsch said on his campaign website.
In the March 2022 primary, Sharon received 47% of the vote, while Lingsch received 28% of the vote in a three-candidate race.