Trevor Neals could replace his twin brother, Congressman Troy Neals, a supporter of President Donald Trump. Can the player seen as MAGA’s successor make history?
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Texas Rep. Troy Neals smoked a cigar last month, walked up the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and stopped to talk to reporters.
The outgoing Congressman Neals, who believes in “Make America Great Again,” is in the final spurt of his legislative career, and is likely to be succeeded by the next Congressman Neals in January. Neals’ twin brother is running to represent Texas’ 22nd District.
Trevor Neals is the newest member of a growing group of candidates across the country who are leading family legacies and seeking political office, following in the footsteps of their siblings, spouses, parents and grandparents.
The field includes Stephanie Shaheen, daughter of New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Beah Bai of the Indiana Democratic dynasty, Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, and Christine Pelosi, daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Mr. Niels, 57, could become the first identical twin in U.S. history to replace his brother in Congress.
“I’m a little taller than him. I think I’m in better shape than him, so there’s a little bit of a difference physically,” Niels jokingly told USA TODAY. “But from a political ideology standpoint, for example, we are pretty much aligned.”
Similarities and differences await between twins
The twins enlisted in the military one day apart in 1998. In 2007, they built houses next to each other in a small town outside of Houston. As children, they wore the same clothes and their families called them “twins.” The two had already spoken on the phone three times before Niels’ morning interview with USA TODAY. One difference? Trevor has his hair parted on the right, while his younger brother styles it with a comb bar on the left.
Although he can be a sometimes vocal lawmaker, current Congressman Nehls remains a devoted ally of President Donald Trump. Still, he leaves Congress with some questions from critics about his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Office of Congressional Conduct referred the investigation to the Republican-led House Ethics Committee after finding probable cause that he “may have diverted campaign committee funds for personal use” in 2024.
He acrimoniously left the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, questioning the way other members approached leadership. Congressman Nehls also faced charges of stolen valor in connection with his military service. And Democrats have long scrutinized his past law enforcement history, accusing him of misconduct, including his firing over concerns about his handling of evidence.
Nehls said his campaign complied with federal law and addressed the investigation into the alleged conduct as political retaliation. Defending his military career, he told the Texas Tribune in 2024, “The establishment will do whatever it takes to discredit me.”
In response to the allegations, Trevor Neils said the incident involving his brother was “undoubtedly politically motivated”.
“I don’t think anyone believed that claim, and that’s why he was elected sheriff,” Trevor Neals said, adding that locals would say his brother “is arguably one of the best sheriffs” in Fort Bend County history.
But while Troy Neals is widely expected to switch places with Trevor Neals, he will likely remain tied to politics, with his brother campaigning in the ruby-colored district outside Houston that was once represented by Tom DeLay, the embattled House Majority Leader under George W. Bush.
Trevor Neals won the local Republican primary last month and will face Democrat Marquette Green Scott in the general election. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as solidly Republican.
How a 20-foot-tall inflatable Donald Trump led Trevor Neals to Wisconsin
Trevor Neils was born on April 7, 1968, five minutes before his older brother. The youngest sons of former Dodge County, Wisconsin Sheriff Edwin Neals grew up in the Badger State before coming of age and settling in Texas. “When you think about how this started for me, it’s really a result of my father going into public office,” Niels said.
Both brothers served in the Army and then began their respective careers in law enforcement. Trevor has previously followed his brother into public office. Mr. Neals’ twin brother succeeded Congressman Neals as Fort Bend County constable (an elected official of a certain county precinct), but lost the race to replace him as Fort Bend County sheriff in 2020.
Trevor Neals also lost his race for Fort Bend County Judge in 2022 by a 3 percentage point margin.
Trevor Neals spent the summer of 2024 crisscrossing Wisconsin to help Trump win re-election in a battleground state that is a must-win for both parties. But why Wisconsin? The Midwestern state was a pickup on Trump’s path to victory, but Republicans like Nehls were already bullish about Trump’s chances in Texas.
“I loaded up the car and told my wife and family, ‘Listen, I’m going to go to Wisconsin, and I’m going to work with the Wisconsin Republican Party to help President Trump,'” Trevor Neals recalled.
He carried a 20-foot-tall inflatable playing card to county fairs, a summer staple in the Midwest, to energize potential supporters and register them to vote. Trump asked to meet with the brothers after the rally, and Trevor Neals said, “He asked us, ‘How are you doing in Wisconsin?'” I said. Mr. President, you can win Wisconsin. ”
The brothers also convinced Team Trump to hold a rally in October 2024, one month before Election Day, in Juneau, Wisconsin, the county seat of Dodge County, where their father and brother served as sheriff.
“For Troy and I, it was one of the proudest moments to win a presidential candidate or a candidate and come to our little hometown where we grew up and went to St. John’s Elementary School and then Dodge County or Dodgeland High School,” Trevor Neals said.
He worked in the Badger State until his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and even brought Trump’s inflatable to a Green Bay Packers game in his backyard near Lambeau Field.
“I want my own identity.”
On November 29, Congressman Nehls announced that he would not seek re-election. He wrote that he decided to retire “after speaking with my beautiful bride and daughters over the Thanksgiving holiday,” and plans to “focus on my family and return home after this Congress.”
Congressman Nehrs informed the president that he does not seek re-election for a fourth term, but that his brother plans to run. “I think President Trump was excited about it because he knew what he was getting,” Trevor Niels said. “It’s not like we didn’t know each other.”
President Trump endorsed his brother on December 4th. “I am honored to endorse MAGA warrior Trevor Niels, who is running to represent the great people of Texas’ 22nd Congressional District,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“Trevor Neils has my full and complete support,” he continued. “He will never let you down!”
Neals said the district includes fast-growing areas outside Houston that rely on federal funding for transportation development, homeland security and flood mitigation nearly a decade after the destruction of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
“I respect what my twin brother has accomplished,” he said, adding, “I think there’s always this thought of, ‘Oh, is he like his older brother Troy? How is he different from his older brother Troy?'”
It’s still too early to say what will differentiate this pair.
“I’m going to blaze my own path,” Nehls said. He added: “I’m going to establish my own identity, whatever that identity is, and I think it’s too early to talk about it because I still have nine or 10 months until I’m sworn in.”
This time next year, Mr. Nehls hopes to find his own room in the House of Commons.
