For Congress

Kulkarni represents our politics at its best with optimism, campaign against tribalism.

United States Representative, District 22: Sri Preston Kulkarni

Pete Olson - Republican Party:

Sri Preston Kulkarni - Democratic Party:

In 2016, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Olson did not meet with the Houston Chronicle editorial board, but he nonetheless earned our endorsement over his Democratic challenger. That’s not the case in 2018.

First-time candidate Sri Preston Kulkarni, 40, wowed the editorial board with his knowledge, eloquence and robust résumé that included time working in the U.S. Senate and 14 years as a State Department foreign service officer that took him all over the globe. That experience only emphasized to Kulkarni the value of American ideals, he told the editorial board, which sit at the core of his campaign. He’s running an optimistic, forward-looking effort that aims to combat the tribalism ripping apart our nation with a renewed sense of decency. That’s also why he’s not accepting corporate donations.

Besides English, the product of Houston schools speaks Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, Russian and Hebrew. This polyglot skill comes in handy when running in this fast-growing, incredibly diverse district, which includes most of Brazoria Fort Bend counties, including Sugar Land.

His own personal background seems to reflect the changing reality of the Houston region. Kulkarni’s father emigrated from India. His mother includes Sam Houston among her ancestors.

While this district was gerrymandered for Republicans, political observers consider it a sleeper swing district due to changing demographics, the potential for high turnout among Asian and youth voters, and the quality of the Democratic candidate.

Voters would be well-served to swing it toward Kulkarni.

It’s local issues that Kulkarni says motivated him to run for office. He says Olson was missing in action in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Olson responded to the allegation with an email to the Texas Tribune that said he worked with the state’s congressional delegation to secure additional federal recovery funds. But that’s not the same as showing up when people need to see you.

In fact, showing up has become an issue in this race. Kulkarni has accused Olson of dodging public events where both were expected to appear. Add to that list of Olson no-shows the Chronicle’s endorsement meeting to interview the 22nd District candidates.

Kulkarni is taking the opposite approach. He’s attending every town hall and public event he can that allows him to try to convince voters that he would better represent their views in Washington. Kulkarni supports a universal health care system, increased emphasis on cybersecurity, environmental policies that acknowledge climate change, more investment in education at all levels and sensible gun laws including background checks.

The latter issue seems particularly important given that kids in this district attend schools only a short drive away from Santa Fe High School — the site of a mass shooting in May.

Kulkarni knows how debates about H1-B and H-4 visas that may seem academic in other districts become bread-and-butter concerns for immigrant communities.

We’ve liked Olson in the past because of his support for NASA and the Port of Houston, but any promise Olson displayed when first elected to Congress in 2008 has been washed away over the years. Instead of representing the best interests of his district, he has become just another D.C. hypocrite who’s politically afraid to choose a more independent path.

Olson must think no one is connecting the dots between calling himself a fiscal conservative and his support for Trump’s tax cuts and profligate spending, which have raised the national debt to more than $21 trillion. The federal government made $523 billion in interest payments last fiscal year, the highest amount on record.

He has pandered to bizarre conspiracy theories on talk radio and inaccurately claimed that Pakistan was responsible for the terrorist attacks on 9/11 — it wasn’t.

Overall, Olson has come to represent all the worst instincts of U.S. politics. Kulkarni represents our politics at its best.