Texas's 22nd congressional district election, 2008
Encyclopedia
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
defeated the incumbent Nick Lampson
.
This race was considered a key race because the seat was previously held by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
, as well as the fact that the seat is represented by a Democrat, Nick Lampson
, whose victory was largely attributed to Republicans being forced to run a write-in campaign. The Republican candidate is Pete Olson
who is facing the incumbent, Lampson.
An October 22, 2008, poll by John Zogby
and the Houston Chronicle
has stated that Olson has a 17 point lead over Lampson.
On October 30, 2008, Larry Sabato
predicted in his Crystal Ball
newsletter that Olson's Congressional race to be a "Republican Pick Up."
had been facing a myriad of ethical challenges and allegations of corruption stemming from his association with controversial Republican donor Jack Abramoff
. DeLay's controversial nature, which dated to his role as House Majority Whip (and later, House Majority Leader), played a key role in his 55-41 margin of victory in 2004 against a heavily underfunded Democrat. By contrast, George W. Bush
carried the district with 64% of the vote compared to 34% for Democrat John Kerry
. The district, while heavily Republican, had been made more Democratic with the addition of a heavily blue-collar portion of Galveston County
, which provided a base of unionized blue-collar refinery workers versus the more affluent, suburban white-collar profile of most other areas of the suburban Houston district, including the suburbs of Sugar Land
and Pearland
, the NASA
Johnson Space Center in Houston's Clear Lake City
development, and the city of Pasadena
. However, Pearland and Pasadena have gradually become Democratic strongholds in the past few years, despite having a large white middle class population; this is in part because many of them are Northern
and West Coast
transplants. Additionally, Pasadena has a large Mexican American
population, and a growing black middle class
population (a traditional Democratic voting bloc) is growing in Pearland and Sugar Land.
In March 2006, DeLay won 62% of the vote in a four-way Republican primary, which would have enabled DeLay to take on former Congressman Nick Lampson
, who was redistricted out of his old district in 2004. On April 3, 2006 however, after former DeLay aide Tony Rudy
pleaded guilty to corruption charges stemming from the Abramoff scandal, DeLay announced he would withdraw from the race, resigning from Congress on June 9, 2006. Republicans attempted to replace DeLay's name on the ballot, but were prevented from doing so after Texas Democrats argued that DeLay was still eligible for re-election, a decision that a district judge ruled in the Democrats' favor. After the Supreme Court upheld the ruling, DeLay withdrew his name from the race on August 8, leaving Republicans without a candidate on the ballot.
On August 17, 2006, precinct chairs nominated Houston city councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs
as the GOP write-in candidate. Despite polling that suggested a competitive race as well as a visit from George W. Bush
himself, Lampson won the seat with 51%, winning in all four counties and even some heavily Republican precincts. However, Sekula-Gibbs won a special election that was announced by Republican Governor Rick Perry
, taking in 62.5% of the vote.
United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2008
The 2008 elections for the Texas delegation of the United States House of Representatives was held on November 4, 2008. 31 of 32 congressional seats that make up the state's delegation were contested. In Texas's 14th congressional district no one challenged incumbent Ron Paul...
for Texas's 22nd congressional district
Texas's 22nd congressional district
Texas District 22 of the United States House of Representatives is the Congressional district that covers a south-central portion of the metropolitan area. It includes the cities of Rosenberg and La Marque as well as portions of Missouri City and Pearland, in Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and...
was held on November 4, 2008 as part of the United States House of Representatives elections for the 111th United States Congress
111th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
. Pete Olson
Pete Olson
Peter Graham "Pete" Olson 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.-Early life, education, and military...
defeated the incumbent 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....
.
This race was considered a key race because the seat was previously held by former House Majority Leader 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...
, as well as the fact that the seat is represented by a Democrat, 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....
, whose victory was largely attributed to Republicans being forced to run a write-in campaign. The Republican candidate is Pete Olson
Pete Olson
Peter Graham "Pete" Olson 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.-Early life, education, and military...
who is facing the incumbent, Lampson.
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...
has stated that Olson has 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 his 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...
newsletter that Olson's Congressional race to be a "Republican Pick Up."
Background
Tom DeLayTom 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...
had been facing a myriad of ethical challenges and allegations of corruption stemming from his association with controversial Republican donor 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...
. DeLay's controversial nature, which dated to his role as House Majority Whip (and later, House Majority Leader), played a key role in his 55-41 margin of victory in 2004 against a heavily underfunded Democrat. By contrast, 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 district with 64% of the vote compared to 34% for Democrat John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
. The district, while heavily Republican, had been made more Democratic with the addition of a heavily blue-collar portion of Galveston County
Galveston County, Texas
Galveston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 291,309. Its county seat is Galveston. League City is the largest city in Galveston County in terms of population; between...
, which provided a base of unionized blue-collar refinery workers versus the more affluent, suburban white-collar profile of most other areas of the suburban Houston district, including the suburbs of Sugar Land
Sugar 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...
and Pearland
Pearland, Texas
Pearland , is a city located along the Gulf Coast region in the US state of Texas within the metropolitan area and is in the counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Harris. As of the census of 2000, the city's population was 37,640. As of 2008, Pearland is estimated to have a population of 90,700...
, the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Johnson Space Center in Houston's Clear Lake City
Clear Lake City, Houston, Texas
Clear Lake City is a master-planned community located in southeast Harris County, Texas, within the Bay Area of Greater Houston. It is the second-largest master-planned community in Houston — behind Kingwood...
development, and the city of 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....
. However, Pearland and Pasadena have gradually become Democratic strongholds in the past few years, despite having a large white middle class population; this is in part because many of them are Northern
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
and West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
transplants. Additionally, Pasadena has a large Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
population, and a growing black middle class
Black middle class
The black middle class, within the United States, refers to African Americans who occupy a middle class status within the American class structure. It is predominately a development that arose after the 1960s, during which the African American Civil Rights Movement led to reform movements aimed at...
population (a traditional Democratic voting bloc) is growing in Pearland and Sugar Land.
In March 2006, DeLay won 62% of the vote in a four-way Republican primary, which would have enabled DeLay to take on former Congressman 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....
, who was redistricted out of his old district in 2004. On April 3, 2006 however, after former DeLay aide Tony Rudy
Tony Rudy
Tony Charles Rudy , an American lobbyist and an associate of Jack Abramoff. After serving as a staffer in the office of U. S. Representative Tom DeLay from approximately 1995 to 2001, and rising to deputy chief of staff, Rudy joined "Team Abramoff" at Greenberg Traurig. Rudy was implicated in the...
pleaded guilty to corruption charges stemming from the Abramoff scandal, DeLay announced he would withdraw from the race, resigning from Congress on June 9, 2006. Republicans attempted to replace DeLay's name on the ballot, but were prevented from doing so after Texas Democrats argued that DeLay was still eligible for re-election, a decision that a district judge ruled in the Democrats' favor. After the Supreme Court upheld the ruling, DeLay withdrew his name from the race on August 8, leaving Republicans without a candidate on the ballot.
On August 17, 2006, precinct chairs nominated Houston city councilwoman 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...
as the GOP write-in candidate. Despite polling that suggested a competitive race as well as a visit from 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....
himself, Lampson won the seat with 51%, winning in all four counties and even some heavily Republican precincts. However, Sekula-Gibbs won a special election that was announced by Republican 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...
, taking in 62.5% of the vote.
Republican
- Pete OlsonPete OlsonPeter Graham "Pete" Olson 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.-Early life, education, and military...
, attorney, Naval Reserve officer and former staffer of Senator John CornynJohn CornynJohn 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....
and former Senator Phil GrammPhil GrammWilliam 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...
.
Defeated in primary
- Kevyn Bazzy, Army Reservist, Intelligence Officer. Graduate of the University of Houston, served in Iraq as a civilian Intelligence Officer working for US Central Command (CENTCOM) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Campaign website).
- Cynthia DunbarCynthia DunbarCynthia Noland Dunbar is an American lawyer and author in Richmond, Texas who served as a Republican on the Texas State Board of Education, which establishes policy for the Texas public school system, from 2007 to 2011...
, Attorney and Member, Texas State Board of Education (Campaign website). - Shelley Sekula-GibbsShelley Sekula-GibbsShelley 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...
, former Congresswoman and dermatologist (Campaign website). - Dean Hrbacek, Former Sugar Land mayor, accountant and tax attorney (Campaign website). Has received the endorsement of a majority of precinct chairs in Republican-dominated Fort Bend County, as well as the Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe 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...
(the only major newspaper in the region) and many elected officials. - Brian Klock, Financial consultant & Navy reservist (Campaign website). Has received the endorsement of prominent Republican donor and homebuilder Bob PerryBob J. PerryBobby Jack Perry , is a Houston, Texas homebuilder, owner of Perry Homes, and major contributor to a number of 527 groups, such as the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth and the Economic Freedom Fund....
. Klock recently garnered media attention over a billboard which depicted the skyline of downtown Houston engulfed in flames. - John Manlove, former Pasadena Mayor, successful award-winning advertising executive and former Latin America missionary (Campaign website). Several mayors have endorsed Manlove, including current Sugar Land mayor David WallaceDavid G. WallaceDavid Gordon Wallace is an American businessman, politician, and author from the state of Texas.- Personal life :David Wallace attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, and later received a scholarship at the University of Reading in England for international studies in Real Estate, Finance...
, who ran an aborted write-in bid for the seat in 2006. - Ryan Rowley, Gulf WarGulf WarThe 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...
veteran and IT contractor (Campaign website). - Jim Squier, Senior District Court Judge (Campaign website)
- Robert Talton, State Representative, District 144 (including Pasadena) (Campaign website)