Two Republicans, Nathan Davis and Antonio Swad, will duke it out to become the Republican candidate for the 32nd congressional district in Dallas.
Davis, 39, and Swad, 65, were pushed to a runoff Tuesday after no candidate secured more than half the vote. The runoff election will be May 24.
The winner will face U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, the incumbent Democrat, in the November general election.
Allred said he is ready to fight to keep the seat in his party’s hands.
The district snakes from Balch Springs along Far East Dallas and up to Richardson and includes parts of Dallas, Collin and Denton counties. There were six GOP candidates in the primary: Wingstop founder Antonio Swad, financial consultant Nathan Davis, small businessman Brad Namdar, former Arlington City Councilman Darrell Day, real estate developer Edward Okpa and Marine Corps and Navy veteran Justin Webb.
Throughout his campaign, Swad leaned heavily into his experience in the restaurant industry.
“They said I’d fail, but I never gave up, and I went on to build two successful national businesses, creating thousands of jobs,” Swad said in a campaign video. “The American Dream doesn’t come from a government handout. It comes from hard work and opportunity.”
Davis has said he’s “an America First Republican.”
“We need lions in Congress, not RINOs,” Davis says in one of his campaign videos, referring to the “Republicans In Name Only” acronym popularized by former President Donald Trump.
“I believe American greatness and the American people are worth fighting for,” Davis says on his website. “Our campaign is one of boldness fighting for the soul of both the Republican Party and this country. We are America First in how we construct solutions to the largest issues of our time.”
While the district was redrawn last year to more heavily favor Democrats, the GOP primary garnered national headlines after The Dallas Morning News reported that Namdar was accused of soliciting prostitution on two occasions last year.
The News also reported that Namdar faces a $1.7 million judgment for failure to pay legal bills and that he allegedly inappropriately touched a student when he was a coach and teacher at a Dallas high school.
Namdar denied the allegations. He questioned the validity of both the escort and student’s allegations. He said evidence the escort provided, including video she says shows the two of them having sex, was “manufactured.”
Davis and Swad did not mention the allegations against Namdar in their initial victory statements. They both promised to do what it takes to oust Allred from the solidly blue seat in November.
