Indian American is the frontrunner in Texas congressional seat

Sri Preston Kulkarni reached out to minority voters in his 2018 campaign.

The campaign of Sri Preston Kulkarni got a huge lift with the retirement of Republican incumbent, Rep. Pete Olson.

Texas, once a solidly red state, is turning purple.

Olson won re-election in 2018 with a narrow victory of first-time campaigner Kulkarni.

“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,” Olson said. “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.”

The son of an Indian immigrant father and a direct descendant of Sam Houston on his mother's side, Kulkarni must now be considered the frontrunner in Congressional District 22. 

Surprisingly, the district, covering the Houston's southeastern suburbs, is one of Texas' most racially diverse. The district is just 40% white (down from 45 percent in 2010), 26% Hispanic, 19% Asian and 12% black, and 43% of adults hold college degrees, among the highest in the state.

Kulkarni almost upset Olson in 2018 by focusing his campaign on getting minorities, who historically had low voting rates, to the polls.

“When I first started, I was told not to bother with the Asian American vote because they don’t turn out,” Kulkarni told the Observer. “Well, I said, maybe that’s because you’re not reaching out to them.”

Last month when Trump began attacking four congresswomen of color, Olson urged Trump to "disavow" his "go back" comments, but declined to vote to condemn them as racist on the House floor. Kulkarni, who grew up in Fort Bend County and speaks six languages, flew under the radar for most of 2018, but nearly caught Olson napping and will have much more DC support this time.

“We have people who are pumped up to come out and knock on doors right now, ..." Kulkarni said. during his 2018 campaign “People wanted change in this district, and since we've built all that infrastructure, it would be a waste to start from scratch.”

Kulkarni must first get past the Democratic primary, where he already faces Attorney Nyanza Davis Moore and Pearland City Councilman Derrick Reed.

“Republicans across Texas are terrified of losing their seats in 2020 and we can’t blame Pete Olson for choosing to retire instead of being thrown out of office next year," said Democratic Party spokesman Avery Jaffe.

Olson's retirement announcement preceded a similar announcement last week by Rep. Will Hurd, who decided not to run for reelection in neighboring District 23 opening the door for another Asian American candidate, Gina Ortiz Jones, who lost to Hurd by less than 1000 votes in the midterm elections.

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