Pete Olson
Encyclopedia
Peter Graham "Pete" Olson (born December 9, 1962) is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party
. The district includes much of southeastern Houston
, as well as most of the city's southern suburbs such as Pearland, Sugar Land, and Pasadena
.
, a southeast suburb of Houston; and attended public schools, graduating from Clear Lake High School in 1981. In 1985, Olson graduated from Rice University
, where he played college basketball his freshman year, earning a Bachelor of Arts
degree in computer science
. Upon graduation, Olson enrolled in law school
at the University of Texas at Austin
. He completed the Texas Bar Exam in 1988 and joined the United States Navy
.
Olson served in the United States Navy for nine years. He entered the Navy in 1988, and earned his Naval Aviator
wings in March 1991. After earning his wings as a P-3C Orion pilot, post-Gulf War
, he flew missions over the Persian Gulf
, the Indian Ocean
, and the Pacific
. In 1994, he was assigned as a Naval liaison to the United States Senate
, during which time he assisted U.S. Senator Phil Gramm
(Texas-R) on several overseas trips.
, from December 2002 until May 2007.
Representative Nick Lampson
in the general election on November 4, 2008. Olson received 53% of the vote and Lampson received 45%. Olson had won the Republican nomination by defeating former Congresswoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
in the April 8, 2008, run-off election.
Democrat
Nick Lampson
won in 2006 when the 11-term Republican incumbent, former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay
, was indicted. DeLay's resignation came too late for another Republican to replace him on the ballot, so Lampson defeated a Republican running as a write-in candidate
. Because of these unusual circumstances, the race has drawn national attention. In 2007, Stuart Rothenberg
called the district "arguably the best Republican takeover opportunity in the country". After Olson was nominated, the Electoral-vote.com
website identified his campaign as "probably the GOP's best pickup opportunity for 2008." The Hill
, a leading Washington, D.C.
political newspaper, stated that Olson's victory over Sekula Gibbs set "up one of the top House races in the country in a conservative Houston
district." Olson was expected to be well funded.
An October 22, 2008, poll by John Zogby
and the Houston Chronicle
stated that Olson had a 17 point lead over Lampson. On October 30, 2008, Larry Sabato
predicted in the Crystal Ball
that Olson's Congressional would be a race that would be a "Republican Pick Up."
2006 background
The 22nd District Congressional seat was held by Democrat
, Nick Lampson
. Lampson won in 2006 when the Republican incumbent, former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay
, was indicted. The district had been held by DeLay for 22 years and was also previously held by Congressman and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul
. However, in 2006, DeLay resigned after coming under fire for ties to controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff
.
During this time, DeLay had also just won the Republican primary in his district against three opponents and faced a difficult challenge against Lampson. Lampson had represented a Galveston/Beaumont
-based district from 1997 to 2005. The Republicans wanted to replace DeLay with then-Houston city councilwoman
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
on the ballot, but a judge upheld a Democratic claim that DeLay's resignation came too late to place another candidate on the ballot. This forced Sekula-Gibbs to run as a write-in candidate
in the general election. In the general election, Lampson defeated Sekula-Gibbs by a ten-point margin. In a special election held on the same day, Sekula-Gibbs was elected for the balance of DeLay's 11th term.
Lampson was considered the most vulnerable Democrat in the House due to the district's heavy Republican tilt. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index
of R+15, it was the fourth most Republican district in the nation to be represented by a Democrat. George W. Bush
carried the 22nd with 64 percent of the vote in 2004.
Because of these unusual circumstances in District 22, the race attracted national attention. In 2007, Stuart Rothenberg
called the district "arguably the best Republican takeover opportunity in the country". After Olson was nominated, the Electoral-vote.com
website identified his campaign as "probably the GOP's best pickup opportunity for 2008." The Hill
, a leading Washington, D.C.
political newspaper, has stated that Olson's victory over Sekula Gibbs has set "up one of the top House races in the country in a conservative Houston
district." Olson is expected to be well funded.
Republican primary race=
In 2007, Olson announced he would run for the Republican nomination in the 22nd District. He was one of 10 Republicans in the field. Also running were Sekula-Gibbs, former Pasadena
mayor John Manlove, former Sugar Land mayor Dean Hrbacek, State Representative
Robert Talton, Senior District Judge Jim Squier, Texas State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar, and three minor candidates.
Sekula-Gibbs won the first round with 29.72%. Olson finished second, with 20.72%. As Sekula-Gibbs finished well short of the majority needed to win the nomination outright, Olson and Sekula-Gibbs advanced to a runoff in April. Sekula-Gibbs criticized Olson as "a Washington insider ... [who] moved here just six months ago to run." Nevertheless, 12 of Texas' 19 Republican congressmen endorsed Olson in the primary.
Olson won the April 8 runoff in a rout, taking 69 percent of the vote to Sekula-Gibbs' 31 percent.
General election race
Olson faced Lampson in the general election, and John Wieder, the Libertarian Party
candidate. Many election experts considered the race one of the best opportunities for the Republicans to pick up a Democratic seat. The Southern Political Report placed the race on its watch list because the district's roots are solidly Republican and Lampson won the seat with only 52% against a write-in candidate.
On June 20, 2008, the Washington Posts "The Fix" commented on the Congressional race: "it's hard to see Rep. Nick Lampson (D) winning reelection. Lampson's slim hopes got even slimmer" with the nomination of Olson.
Olson and Lampson agreed to a debate of the issues on October 20, 2008, in Rosenberg, Texas
.
In the November election, Olson defeated Lampson with 53 percent of the vote to Lampson's 45 percent. He won four of the district's five counties.
fundraising efforts
At the end of March 2008, Olson's campaign was technically in debt, with almost $128,000 on hand and a debt to the candidate, who provided a personal loan of $175,000.
On June 5, 2008, Vice President
Dick Cheney
visited Houston to raise money for Olson's Congressional campaign. The event took place at the home of Houston billionaire Dan Duncan
.
Through three months ending September 30, 2008, Olson raised more money than Lampson. Olson raised $312,700 and Lampson only raised $149,000.
, a caucus of conservative House Republicans.
Olson opposes the current incarnation of Interstate 69, which since 2002 has been part of Governor Rick Perry
's controversial Trans-Texas Corridor
, a project Gramm did not provide funding for as a U.S. Senator. The previous incarnation of I-69 (which Gramm did fund) was slated to go through the current U.S. Highway 59 which passes through Houston and outlying suburbs such as Sugar Land and Humble
.
|+ : 2008 results
!|Year
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Libertarian
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|2008
|
| |Pete Olson
| align="right" |161,600
| |52.41%
|
| |
| align="right" |139,879
| |45.37%
|
| |John Wieder
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |6,823
| align="right" |2.21%
|
|
with his wife Nancy and their two children, Kate and Grant and their dog Riley.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. The district includes much of southeastern Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, as well as most of the city's southern suburbs such as Pearland, Sugar Land, and Pasadena
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....
.
Early life, education, and military service
Peter Graham Olson was born on December 9, 1962 in Fort Lewis, Washington. In 1972, Olson moved with his family to Seabrook, TexasSeabrook, Texas
Seabrook is a city in Harris county, with some water surface area located within Chambers county in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 9,443 at the 2000 census....
, a southeast suburb of Houston; and attended public schools, graduating from Clear Lake High School in 1981. In 1985, Olson graduated from Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, where he played college basketball his freshman year, earning a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
. Upon graduation, Olson enrolled in law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. He completed the Texas Bar Exam in 1988 and joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
Olson served in the United States Navy for nine years. He entered the Navy in 1988, and earned his Naval Aviator
Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
wings in March 1991. After earning his wings as a P-3C Orion pilot, post-Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, he flew missions over the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, and the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. In 1994, he was assigned as a Naval liaison to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, during which time he assisted U.S. Senator Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
William Philip "Phil" Gramm is an American economist and politician, who has served as a Democratic Congressman , a Republican Congressman and a Republican Senator from Texas...
(Texas-R) on several overseas trips.
Early political career
After leaving active military duty, he joined Senator Gramm's staff in 1998. After Gramm's retirment from the U.S. Senate in 2002, Olson served as Chief of Staff to Gramm's successor, U.S. Senator and former Texas Attorney General John CornynJohn Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
, from December 2002 until May 2007.
2008
He defeated incumbent DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Representative Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
in the general election on November 4, 2008. Olson received 53% of the vote and Lampson received 45%. Olson had won the Republican nomination by defeating former Congresswoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is a physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. She has also served as a City Councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms...
in the April 8, 2008, run-off election.
Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
won in 2006 when the 11-term Republican incumbent, former House Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The U.S. House of Representatives does not officially use the term "Minority Leader", although the media frequently does...
Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, was indicted. DeLay's resignation came too late for another Republican to replace him on the ballot, so Lampson defeated a Republican running as a write-in candidate
Write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...
. Because of these unusual circumstances, the race has drawn national attention. In 2007, Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst best known for his Washington-based, biweekly, self-proclaimed non-partisan political newsletter The Rothenberg Political Report...
called the district "arguably the best Republican takeover opportunity in the country". After Olson was nominated, the Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-Vote.com is the website of computer scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum. The site's primary content is poll analysis to project the outcome of U.S. elections. The site also includes commentary on related news stories. Well known for its color-coded electoral map of the United States, the...
website identified his campaign as "probably the GOP's best pickup opportunity for 2008." The Hill
The Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
, a leading Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
political newspaper, stated that Olson's victory over Sekula Gibbs set "up one of the top House races in the country in a conservative Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
district." Olson was expected to be well funded.
An October 22, 2008, poll by John Zogby
John Zogby
John Zogby is an American political pollster and first senior fellow at The Catholic University of America's Life Cycle Institute. He is the founder, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling firm known for both phone polling and interactive, Internet-based polling.-Early years:Zogby...
and the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
stated that Olson had a 17 point lead over Lampson. On October 30, 2008, Larry Sabato
Larry Sabato
Larry Joseph Sabato is an American political scientist and analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, and director of its Center for Politics. He founded Sabato's Crystal Ball, an online newsletter and website that provides free political analysis and...
predicted in the Crystal Ball
Sabato's Crystal Ball
Sabato’s Crystal Ball is a free, nonpartisan weekly online newsletter and comprehensive website in the United States that analyzes the current American political scene and predicts electoral outcomes for U.S House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, governors, and U.S. president races...
that Olson's Congressional would be a race that would be a "Republican Pick Up."
2006 background
The 22nd District Congressional seat was held by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Nick Lampson
Nick Lampson
Nicholas Valentino 'Nick' Lampson is an American politician from the state of Texas and was a Congressman representing the 22nd Congressional District of Texas. He was defeated by Pete Olson on November 4, 2008 in his re-election bid....
. Lampson won in 2006 when the Republican incumbent, former House Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The U.S. House of Representatives does not officially use the term "Minority Leader", although the media frequently does...
Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, was indicted. The district had been held by DeLay for 22 years and was also previously held by Congressman and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
. However, in 2006, DeLay resigned after coming under fire for ties to controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
.
During this time, DeLay had also just won the Republican primary in his district against three opponents and faced a difficult challenge against Lampson. Lampson had represented a Galveston/Beaumont
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
-based district from 1997 to 2005. The Republicans wanted to replace DeLay with then-Houston city councilwoman
Houston City Council
The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.Currently, there are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years...
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
Shelley Sekula-Gibbs is a physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. She has also served as a City Councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms...
on the ballot, but a judge upheld a Democratic claim that DeLay's resignation came too late to place another candidate on the ballot. This forced Sekula-Gibbs to run as a write-in candidate
Write-in candidate
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu...
in the general election. In the general election, Lampson defeated Sekula-Gibbs by a ten-point margin. In a special election held on the same day, Sekula-Gibbs was elected for the balance of DeLay's 11th term.
Lampson was considered the most vulnerable Democrat in the House due to the district's heavy Republican tilt. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...
of R+15, it was the fourth most Republican district in the nation to be represented by a Democrat. George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
carried the 22nd with 64 percent of the vote in 2004.
Because of these unusual circumstances in District 22, the race attracted national attention. In 2007, Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg
Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst best known for his Washington-based, biweekly, self-proclaimed non-partisan political newsletter The Rothenberg Political Report...
called the district "arguably the best Republican takeover opportunity in the country". After Olson was nominated, the Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-vote.com
Electoral-Vote.com is the website of computer scientist Andrew S. Tanenbaum. The site's primary content is poll analysis to project the outcome of U.S. elections. The site also includes commentary on related news stories. Well known for its color-coded electoral map of the United States, the...
website identified his campaign as "probably the GOP's best pickup opportunity for 2008." The Hill
The Hill (newspaper)
The Hill, a subsidiary of News Communications Inc., is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C. since 1994.Its first editor was Martin Tolchin, a veteran correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times....
, a leading Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
political newspaper, has stated that Olson's victory over Sekula Gibbs has set "up one of the top House races in the country in a conservative Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
district." Olson is expected to be well funded.
Republican primary race=
In 2007, Olson announced he would run for the Republican nomination in the 22nd District. He was one of 10 Republicans in the field. Also running were Sekula-Gibbs, former Pasadena
Pasadena, Texas
Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....
mayor John Manlove, former Sugar Land mayor Dean Hrbacek, State Representative
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
Robert Talton, Senior District Judge Jim Squier, Texas State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar, and three minor candidates.
Sekula-Gibbs won the first round with 29.72%. Olson finished second, with 20.72%. As Sekula-Gibbs finished well short of the majority needed to win the nomination outright, Olson and Sekula-Gibbs advanced to a runoff in April. Sekula-Gibbs criticized Olson as "a Washington insider ... [who] moved here just six months ago to run." Nevertheless, 12 of Texas' 19 Republican congressmen endorsed Olson in the primary.
Olson won the April 8 runoff in a rout, taking 69 percent of the vote to Sekula-Gibbs' 31 percent.
General election race
Olson faced Lampson in the general election, and John Wieder, the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
candidate. Many election experts considered the race one of the best opportunities for the Republicans to pick up a Democratic seat. The Southern Political Report placed the race on its watch list because the district's roots are solidly Republican and Lampson won the seat with only 52% against a write-in candidate.
On June 20, 2008, the Washington Posts "The Fix" commented on the Congressional race: "it's hard to see Rep. Nick Lampson (D) winning reelection. Lampson's slim hopes got even slimmer" with the nomination of Olson.
Olson and Lampson agreed to a debate of the issues on October 20, 2008, in Rosenberg, Texas
Rosenberg, Texas
Rosenberg is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Fort Bend County and is part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 31,676 at the 2010 census...
.
In the November election, Olson defeated Lampson with 53 percent of the vote to Lampson's 45 percent. He won four of the district's five counties.
fundraising efforts
At the end of March 2008, Olson's campaign was technically in debt, with almost $128,000 on hand and a debt to the candidate, who provided a personal loan of $175,000.
On June 5, 2008, Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
visited Houston to raise money for Olson's Congressional campaign. The event took place at the home of Houston billionaire Dan Duncan
Dan Duncan
Dan L Duncan was an American born in Center, Texas. He was the co-founder, chairman and majority shareholder of Enterprise Products.- Philanthropy :...
.
Through three months ending September 30, 2008, Olson raised more money than Lampson. Olson raised $312,700 and Lampson only raised $149,000.
Tenure
During the campaign, Olson claimed he was a better fit for the district than Lampson. Olson told Wall Street Journal reporter Leslie Eaton that "I have conservative values, and he (Lampson) doesn't." Indeed, not long after being sworn in, Olson joined the Republican Study CommitteeRepublican Study Committee
The Republican Study Committee [RSC] is a caucus of over 170 conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives...
, a caucus of conservative House Republicans.
Olson opposes the current incarnation of Interstate 69, which since 2002 has been part of Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
's controversial Trans-Texas Corridor
Trans-Texas Corridor
The Trans-Texas Corridor was a transportation network that was discontinued in the planning and early construction stages in the U.S. State of Texas. The network, as originally envisioned, would have been composed of a network of supercorridors up to wide to carry parallel links of tollways,...
, a project Gramm did not provide funding for as a U.S. Senator. The previous incarnation of I-69 (which Gramm did fund) was slated to go through the current U.S. Highway 59 which passes through Houston and outlying suburbs such as Sugar Land and Humble
Humble, Texas
Humble is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area.As of the 2000 census, the city population was 14,579. The city shares a zip code with the small Houston neighborhood of Bordersville, although people who live in Bordersville still have Humble...
.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Energy and CommerceUnited States House Committee on Energy and CommerceThe Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than 200 years...
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
- Subcommittee on Energy and Power
Caucus Memberships
Constitution Caucus, Aerospace Caucus, General Aviation Caucus, Coal Caucus, Balanced Budget Amendment Caucus, Natural Gas Caucus, National Guard and Reserve Caucus, Beef Caucus, Gulf Coast Caucus, Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, Taiwan Caucus, Ports to Plains Caucus, Diabetes Caucus, Rice CaucusElectoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"|+ : 2008 results
!|Year
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Libertarian
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|2008
Texas's 22nd congressional district election, 2008
The 2008 election for Texas's 22nd congressional district was held on November 4, 2008 as part of the United States House of Representatives elections for the 111th United States Congress...
|
| |Pete Olson
| align="right" |161,600
| |52.41%
|
| |
| align="right" |139,879
| |45.37%
|
| |John Wieder
| |Libertarian
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
| align="right" |6,823
| align="right" |2.21%
|
|
Personal life
Olson lives in Sugar LandSugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas, having grown more than 158 percent in the last decade. In the time period of 2000–2007, Sugar Land also enjoyed a...
with his wife Nancy and their two children, Kate and Grant and their dog Riley.
External links
- Congressman Pete Olson official U.S. House site
- Pete Olson for Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...