U.S. Rep. Olson not seeking 7th term
Dems eyeing victory in open House race for changing district
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Pete Olson won’t seek a seventh term in 2020, he announced on Thursday, making it open season for one of the most rapidly diversifying congressional districts in the nation, which Democrats have targeted to flip in 2020.
Olson, R-Sugar Land, said in a statement that he wants to be “a more consistent presence” for his family as his wife’s mother deals with health issues.
“For six terms, the voters of our district have placed their faith in me to represent their concerns in the House of Representatives. The time I have spent working with them and for them has been a tremendous blessing,” Olson said. “But, it has also come at great personal sacrifice to my family. My amazing wife, Nancy, has carried the lion’s share of parenting our two great children. Her mother has suffered health issues that require more care and attention. As someone who has long advocated for policies that put our families first, it’s time for me to take my own advice and be a more consistent presence to help our family.”
Olson’s announcement sparked victory cries from Democrats who believe the longtime congressman is choosing retirement over a tough re-election fight in the fast-changing district they think they can win in 2020.
Olson narrowly won re-election in 2018, beating Democratic challenger Sri Preston Kulkarni by less than 5 percentage points. Olson had already drawn two challengers: Kulkarni, who has been furiously fundraising for a rematch, and Nyanza Davis Moore, an attorney and political commentator from Pearland.
The district, which stretches along the southwest Houston suburbs from Katy, through Sugar Land and around to Pearland, has grown more than any in Texas and is home to more than 881,000 residents , according to the U.S. Census. It’s also an increasingly international slice of Houston, where foreign-born residents make up a quarter of the population. More than 167,000 residents identify as Asian, nearly 20 percent of the population — far beyond any other district in Texas. About 25 percent of the district’s residents are Hispanic, and 14 percent are black.
“The district is changing, and the county is changing. So winning elections is going to be much harder than it was — and that’s clearly part of that calculation,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor.
Without an incumbent, it’s likely to be an even sweeter target for Democrats, he said: “An open seat would be much easier for Democrats to win than a seat with Olson in it. This is clearly a boost for Democrats.”
The district is already on a list of 33 GOP-held or open seats targeted nationally by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2020. The group has also set sights on U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul’s seat, which stretches from the Houston suburbs to Austin, Rep. Chip Roy’s district outside of San Antonio and Rep. Will Hurd’s West Texas seat.
Texas Democratic Party communications director Abhi Rahman predicted more Texas Republicans will follow Olson’s lead and retire.
“The simple facts are that Pete Olson is too extreme for Texas and represents an increasingly diverse, Democratic district,” Rahman said in a statement. “With the DCCC and Texas Democrats rising up in Texas’ 22nd district, clearly DC Republicans told Pete Olson that it’s time to set aside. We wouldn’t be surprised if there were more retirements because Republicans know their 2020 prospects are doomed.”
Despite the Democratic bravado, national Republicans expressed confidence.
“This will remain a Republican district for the foreseeable future,” Rep. Tom Emmer, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “Whoever the socialist Democrats nominate will be forced to defend their party’s radical agenda of socialized medicine and killing oil and gas jobs with the Green New Deal in a solid Republican district.”
Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said Democrats should tap the brakes on their celebrations.
“If you’re a Democrat, you shouldn’t be excited about Pete Olson retiring — Olson retiring is bad news for Democrats,” he said. “He was a relatively weak incumbent, and he has not demonstrated he has the energy and the drive to campaign effectively.”
Jones said Olson is also “tainted by his experience in Washington” and too closely tied to the national party and President Donald Trump, whose anti-immigrant rhetoric is fatal for a candidate in the district.
“To win in a district that’s increasingly competitive like his, it helps to have more of an independent streak,” Jones said. “Donald Trump is a weight around the neck of a lot of Texas Republicans, but it’s especially heavy in Texas-22.”
Olson’s retirement comes on the heels of a second quarter of fundraising that saw the incumbent outpaced by Kulkarni, who took in more than $420,000 from April through June, compared with Olson’s $377,000, according to federal campaign reports. Olson had raised $650,963 overall for his re-election. It was Kulkarni’s first quarter of fundraising. Moore, meanwhile, raised raised $30,189 in the second quarter. Since announcing her candidacy, she’s raised $73,705.
“Now is the time to fight harder than ever,” Kulkarni said in a statement wishing Olson well in retirement. “The contest ahead won’t be easy — but the fights worth fighting never are.”
It’s unclear who will seek the Republican nomination now that Olson is out. One potential candidate is Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, who announced this month he won’t seek re-election — and didn’t rule out a possible congressional run at the time, saying, “I will again revisit that over the next four, five months. … We’ll just wait to see what happens.”
Olson, a former Navy pilot, has spent a decade on Capitol Hill and had four bills become law. Two were post office renamings, and one was a congressional gold medal award. A member of the energy and commerce committee, he advocated for increasing domestic energy production and national defense.
“My constant focus was to strengthen our national security, expand our economy to provide more opportunities for hardworking Texas families, and limit the power of the federal government over our lives and businesses,” Olson said in a statement. “Now, it’s time for another citizen-legislator to take up this mission, not to make a career out of politics, but to help lead in the cause of empowering our people, defending our liberties, and making sure America remains the greatest nation in history.”