Republicans Mike Schofield and Ann Hodge are headed back to the polls May 27 for a runoff election to fill the open seat for Texas House District 132.

In the March primary election Schofield finished with a significant lead, garnering 44.61 percent of the vote, but needed more than 50 percent to win the election outright.

Hodge finished with 19.48 percent, narrowly edging out Michael Franks with 18.22 percent and Justin D. Perryman with 17.69 percent. The difference between Hodge and the fourth-place candidate, Perryman, was just 119 votes.

"I think we have launched a significant ground-game of outreach," Hodge said.

She and her volunteers are walking neighborhoods, mailing and emailing potential voters and attending community events, she said.

The winner of the runoff will face off against Democrat Luis Lopez in November. Lopez ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary.

Schofield previously served in the office of Gov. Rick Perry as an attorney and advisor. He has previously cited his top two priorities as limiting state government while fighting against excessive regulation and border control.

Hodge, president and CEO of the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce, said her priorities as representative would be supporting wise infrastructure investments and improving education. She expressed gratitude for the voters that gave her the chance to compete in the runoff.

District 132—which covers the western part of Harris County between Barker Cypress Road and the Waller County line, including parts of Katy and Cy-Fair—is held by Rep. Bill Callegari, who is retiring.

Callegari, first elected in 2000, served as the state representative in District 132 for seven terms before announcing his retirement in September.

Hodge said that in her conversations with people in the district she is finding that many people did not know that Callegari had decided not to seek re-election. For those who did, a four-candidate primary was a lot to keep track of.

"Frankly I think there were a lot of voters who were overwhelmed by it," she said. "The good part about the runoff is that there are only two candidates."

A total of 7.89 percent of eligible Republican voters in the area participated in the primary. In the 2010 primary, the last primary race in a non-presidential year, about 8.49 percent of registered Republicans participated.

Several candidates in the lead up to the primary race commented on the stratification and increasing diversity of the district stemming from recent residential developments, such as Bridgeland.

"I think because it is larger and more spread out than it once was it is a challenge to help the voters understand where the lines are," Hodge said. "The people who have lived here a long time think that everything is the same."

Redistricting efforts from the Texas Legislature have also caused some confusion. Some voters who have voted for a long time for a particular candidate, in a particular district, did not find that candidate's name on the ballot, Hodge said.

"I share the voters concern," she said. "Election Day I was getting calls from supporters who thought they were in the district but didn't see my name."

Calls and emails to Mike Schofield's campaign were not returned by press time.