Anti-gay activist Dave Wilson won a local Houston election with the help of misleading ads.

According to KHOU 11 News, Wilson, a Republican, defeated 24-year incumbent Bruce Austin, who is African-American, by only 26 votes to claim a seat on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees in his predominantly African-American district.

Wilson, who is white, strongly implied that he is black in campaign literature mailed to voters.

One flier states “Please vote for our friend and neighbor Dave Wilson” under stock photographs of smiling African-American faces.

A second mailer includes the tagline “Endorsed by Ron Wilson” followed in fine print “Ron Wilson and Dave Wilson are cousins.” However, without reading the qualifier, voters were more likely to attribute the endorsement to former state Rep. Ron Wilson, who is African-American.

“I'd always said it was a long shot,” Wilson told the television station.

Wilson, who owns a sign company, has routinely attacked Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is openly lesbian. In 2009, he paid for 35,000 fliers featuring Parker being sworn into office as city controller with partner Kathy Hubbard at her side under the caption, “Is this the image Houston wants to portray?”

Two years later, Wilson ran a campaign to unseat Parker. In a letter to supporters, he criticized the incumbent mayor for promoting a “homosexual agenda” and claimed that “Religious freedom will be stifled and millions more will be trapped as the demand for legal and political approval for homosexual behavior increases.”