Race for 22nd District is fifth-most costly in nation with $8.7M spent
The battle for one of Houston’s competitive congressional seats is already one of the most expensive in the nation.
Almost $9 million has been spent by candidates for the 22nd Congressional District based in Fort Bend County, which includes parts of Brazoria and Harris counties.
It’s the fifth-most spent in any of the 435 congressional races in the U.S. — nearly twice as much as in any other congressional contest in Texas. And the money is still flowing as the top two GOP challengers in the race head for a runoff in July.
Republican Kathaleen Wall has staked more than $4.4 million of her own money on her campaign, fueling big TV ad buys that helped her take second place in the March 3 Republican primary. She finished second to Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls, who spent over $350,000 so far.
Wall began airing a new television commercial earlier this month blaming China for having “poisoned our people” with the coronavirus.
In all, 15 Republicans were in the primary election hoping to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land. The secondbiggest spender in the race didn’t survive the primary. Pierce Bush, the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, spent $1.3 million.
The Republican nominee will face Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni in a race that both major political parties have declared a major priority. Kulkarni spent about $1.2 million in the primary and won his party’s nomination over three other Democrats.
The 22nd district is considered one of the most competitive in the nation after Kulkarni came within 5 percentage points of defeating Olson, who had won his previous re-elections by much wider margins. The Cook Political Report, based in Washington, D.C., listed it as one of six Republican-held seats rated as a toss-up or favoring Democrats in 2020.
The National Republican Congressional Committee remains optimistic it can hold the seat whether Nehls or Wall wins the July 14 runoff election. NRCC officials point out that the last time President Donald Trump was on the ballot, he won the 22nd District by 8 percentage points.
But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is vowing to help Kulkarni capture the district.
“After scaring Rep. Pete Olson into an early retirement with his strong grassroots campaign, Sri Preston Kulkarni is the leader who will flip this diverse and quickly-changing district from red to blue in November,” DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said.
The candidates are battling for a two-year term in Congress that pays $174,000 a year.