Texas Primary: Ortiz Jones, Kulkarni pass their initial challenges

Sri Preston Kulkarni, left, and Gina Ortiz Jones seek to make Texas history in November.

Both AAPI candidates who want make history by representing Texas in Congress passed their first test with flying colors on Super Tuesday.

Democrats Sri Preston Kulkarni and Gina Ortiz Jones easily bested their Democratic rivals to face Republican challengers in November.

Ortiz Jones, who would become the first Filipino American and first gay representative for Texas if she wins in the contest for Congressional District 23, garnered two-thirds of the votes cast Tuesday (March 3).

"I’m honored to be the Democratic nominee in #TX23. I’ve dedicated my life to public service, and I’m running for Congress to expand the opportunities that allowed me to grow up healthy, get a quality education, and serve our country," Ortiz Jones tweeted Tuesday night.

"Folks in South and West Texas are ready to send a leader to Washington who will fight for quality, lower cost health care, responsible and compassionate immigration reform, and an economy that works for everyone," she said.

“We look forward to making sure that this district is finally well-represented,” said Jones, 39, a San Antonio native and former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer.

The incumbent, Republican Will Hurd, is not running for reelection after eking out a win over Ortiz Jones in 2018.

The two Republicans seeking to take his place, Tony Gonzales and Raul Gonzales, failed to win more than 50% of the total. As the two top vote-getters in a field of nine Republicans, they will have a runoff May 26,

Kulkarni, who also almost upset incumbent Republican Pete Olsen, in 2018, seeks to become the first Indian American congressmember from Texas. Olsen, like Hurd, chose not run again for Congress opening the door for a wide-open contest in November.

Kulkarni easily beat his  opponents to become the Democratic flag bearer in Congressional District 22.

As the victorious trend became evident Tuesday night, Kulkarni said: “I’m cautiously optimistic that we are going to be successful, but I really am proud, ecstatic about the fact that inclusion won today because we are running the most inclusive campaign across the country.

“We had 21 languages, reaching out to women who were registered but never voted in their lives, we reached out to all groups that have been ignored before, today was a victory for inclusion, last year we came in first place, but this year we had an even bigger margin because we were even more inclusive.”

As in CD 23, the two Republican frontrunners, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and conservative activist Kathaleen Wall are headed for a May 26 runoff to be the GOP candidate to run against Kulkarni in a contest that is rated to be a toss-up.

The AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee, endorsed both Ortiz Jones and Kulkarni in their Primary runs.

Both of the Texas races are expected to be hotly contested in November. The Republican and Democratic national parties see the races for CD22 and CD23 critical to power their  influence in the House and will be pouring money into the campaigns.