Retired Navy Seal Morgan Luttrell Wins GOP Nomination in Texas Primary

Retired Navy Seal Morgan Luttrell snagged the Republican nomination in the Lone Star State’s 8th Congressional District, according to a projection from the Associated Press on Thursday. 

Luttrell, who was one of 11 Republicans vying for retiring Rep. Kevin Brady’s (R-TX) seat, received 52.2 percent of the votes in his district (34,019 votes). Political activist Christian Collins — Luttrell’s biggest competition — garnered 22.2 percent of the votes (14,503 votes.) Navy veteran and attorney Jonathan Hullihan received 12.6 percent of the vote, and none of the rest of the GOP candidates surpassed 3 percent.

Laura Jones was the lone Democrat in the 8th District primary, easily securing the nomination and drawing attention to the conservative-heavy demographic in the district, despite redistricting. House District 8 covers parts of Polk, San Jacinto, Montgomery, Walker, and Northwest Harris counties and sits just north of Houston.

Luttrell and Collins sparked much speculation ahead of the Republican primary, playing out a district proxy war between different elements of the national GOP. As Breitbart News reported, Luttrell had the backing of Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) and former former GOP Gov. Rick Perry, compared to Collins, who had the backing of the House Freedom Caucus’s PAC and of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

“They have sparred in debates, and some have framed it as a battle between the establishment—which they say are behind Luttrell—and the grassroots which they say are behind Collins,” the report details.

Following the announcement of Luttrell’s victory, National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Emmer released a statement congratulating him and forecasting his victory against Jones in the general election.