Nielsen, elected in March, was set to automatically take over as the party leader in Texas' biggest county, home to Houston, at 12 a.m. Monday. By Sunday night, over 120 precinct chairs had signed on to a statement reminding Nielsen of his early June "declination to take the office." The statement from the precinct chairs does not criticize Nielsen but favorably notes his June 6 statement that he would not take office. "This difficult decision rightfully put our party over personal interest," the precinct chairs' statement says. Nielsen initially said the graphic was being misinterpreted and declined to give up the job.