Ex-Senate aide Pete Olson defeated former City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs in a runoff election for a nominee for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s old District 22 congressional seat.

Republicans Sekula Gibbs and Olson were battling for the chance to run against first-term Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson in what has been a traditionally Republican district.

Sekula Gibbs got the most votes in March in the 10-candidate Republican field, but Olson won Tuesday night. He led with 66 percent to Sekula Gibbs’ 34 percent with about a third of the votes in.

“Both parties see this season as one of the most important seats across the country,” said Olson. “(The Democrats) are going to want to hold it and we want to take it back.”

It did not take long for the incumbent’s camp to come out firing at Olson, using rhetoric that sounded similar to some of the things Sekula Gibbs said of Olson in the final days of the campaign.

"Congressman (Nick) Lampson has promoted NASA while his opponent didn't know the name of the Johnson Space Center in a recent debate,” Lampson’s recently hired campaign manager Anthony Gutierrez said in a statement. “He has worked on transportation issues while his opponent supports more toll roads and a big government land grab called the Trans-Texas Corridor. Congressman Lampson is an independent voice for Texas; his opponent is a Washington insider with little or no knowledge of this district."

Despite the negative tone the Republican campaign took in its final days, Sekula Gibbs encouraged the party to come together to defeat Lampson in the fall.

“We really hope people will get together. Republicans will come together and we will win the seat back in November,” she told 11 News. The former city councilwoman and interim congresswoman said it was too early to predict what her future political aspirations will be.