House Hunting: Update on AAPI Congressional candidates

Edited for clarification, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.

All of the AAPI incumbents serving in Congress who were up for re-election, won their races ... except for TJ Cox, who is still waiting for all the ballots to be counted.

Two new AAPI members of Congress will be representing Washington and Hawaii; and two more if they win their races in California. That's the good news.

The rest of the news was not so good for AAPI candidates or for the nation. TJ Cox, the first Filipino American Congressman elected in California is fighting for his life; and two strong Congressional candidates in Texas, Gina Ortiz Jones and Sri Preston Kulkarni, came up short; and 99% White Maine went with flailing Susan Collins, a Republican, over Sara Gideon, who looked strong before election day, 

Following are the results of the contested Congressional races, but not including the incumbents who won reelection easily.

The winners

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 10

With 90% of the vote counted, former Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, a Korean American Democrat, won her race for Congress against State legislator Beth Doglio, another Democrat, with 50.2% of the vote vs. 35.9% She made history by becoming the first Korean American woman in Congress.

HAWAII, DISTRICT 2

Kai Kahele was declared a winner for the seat vacated by Tulsi Gabbard, easily beating his closest opponent, Republican Joe Akana, by a 2-to-1 margin. A colonel in the Hawaiian National Guard, Kahele was also serving in Hawaii's Senate before making the leap to Congress. Kahele will be only the third Native Hawaiian to serve in Congress since Hawaii became a state.

Too close to call

ARIZONA, DISTRICT 5

It is too close to call in the District 5 race. Dr. Hiral Tiperneni, a Indian American ER physician, was winning in the early going but lost that lead as more votes came in for Republican incumbent David Schweikert. With87% of the votes in, Schweikert was leading the race with 60.9% of the vote vs. Tiperneni's 49.1% -- separated by about 6,500 votes.

CALIFORNIA, DISTRICT 21

In 2018, Congressman TJ Cox was the last House race in the country to be finalized with the Filipino American narrowly beating incumbent Republican David Valadao by 862 votes Once again, this might be the tightest House race in the nation and it could be days before all the mail-in ballots are counted. With only 71% of the votes counted, Valadao has 51.4% of the vote compared to Cox's 48.6%, a difference of about 3,000 votes.

CALIFORNIA, DISTRICT 34

For a first-time candidate, teacher David Kim ran a good race with a well-thought-out platform, but he was unable to unseat fellow Democrat, incumbent Rep. Jimmy Gomez. Gomez was leading with 52.3% of the votes cast. Kim garnered 47.7% of the ballots in the southern California district.

CALIFORNIA DISTRICT 39

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros, in his first term, and Republican challenger Young Kim, a former state legislator, Wednesday were still in a tight race for the 39th Congressional District seat late Wednesday. Kim is part of Republican efforts to recapture the once all Republican seats of conservative Orange County. With 89.7% of precincts reporting, Kim was leading by less than a percentage point, 50.27% to 49.73%. Her lead was just over 1,500 Wednesday evening.

CALIFORNIA, DISTRICT 48

In conservative Orange County's 48th Congressional District, the race between incumbent Democrat Rep. Harley Rouda and Republican Michelle Steel, the chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, remains too close to call. With 93.98% of precincts reporting Wednesday evening, Vietnamese American Steele held onto a razor-thin lead over Rouda — 50.42% to 49.58%. The candidates are separated by about 2,800 votes. It was unclear how many of the mail-in ballots remain to be counted.

So close, but ...

Gina Ortiz Jones conceded early Wednesday to Republican Tony Gonzalez, a Navy veteran and college professor. "I want to thank each and every grassroots supporter, volunteer, and member of my staff who poured their heart into our campaign," said Jones, a Filipino American. "I am so proud of the race we ran, and it is our shared commitment to fighting for working families in South and West Texas that continues to give me hope." District 23 runs an 800-mile stretch from San Antonio to El Paso, and along the U.S.-Mexico border. Rep. Will Hurd decided not to run for reelection, making this seat up for grabs but the GOP poured money in the race to keep the seat Republican.

TEXAS, DISTRICT 22

Sri Preston Kulkarni, whose campaign really drummed up excitement in the Asian American community, especially the immigrants from South Asia who were beginning to flex their political muscle in the suburban district. But with 88% of the vote counted, he fell short to Republican candidate and Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehl for Texas' vacant 22nd district seat. The seat was up for grabs after Republican Rep. Pete Olson announced his retirement in 2019. With all the excitement Kulkarni generated his loss was perhaps the most disappointing for AAPI activists but perhaps changed local politics forever. His concession statement: "Over the past three years, we built the most diverse and inclusive grassroots campaign for Congress Texas has ever seen, with more faiths, more ethnic and linguistic communities represented in our coalition than anything we have ever seen before.

"Our work doesn’t end today. This campaign is about all of us, not any one person running for office, and about the potential we have to restore reason, compassion and decency in our society. We must all continue to hold people in power accountable and stand up against extremism, cruelty, and hate mongering ... I promise you that we’re not done fighting for our future.”

VIRGINIA, DISTRICT 1

Democrat Qasim Rashid, seeking to become the first Pakistani American in Congress, failed to beat incumbent Rob Whittman. The Republican won easily with 58.4% of the vote and Rashid won 41.5%

MAINE, U.S. SENATE

Sara Gideon, an Indian American, presented a serious challenge to incumbent Susan Collins, who drew the ire of the nation's women and the Democratic Party for voting for Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court. Collins is Lucy with the football and the Democrats is Charlie Brown. She tries to present an independent image but disappoints Dems by voting with the GOP most of the time. Gideon, according to the polls, was leading in Maine but when Maine's voters went to the polls, they decided to go with the familiar face. Gideon trailed the moment Maine began counting the ballots. In the end, she was able to win only 42.3% of the vote as Collins won convincingly with 51.1%.

2020 elections: Seven AAPI candidates receive Obama endorsements

President Barack Obama lent his support to 118 candidates.

Former President Barack Obama issued a list of more than 100 people running for federal and state office that he is endorsing. Among the 118 candidates receiving his backing are seven Asian Americans.

"I’m proud to endorse this diverse and hopeful collection of thoughtful, empathetic, and highly qualified Democrats," said Obama in a statement. "Together, these candidates will help us redeem our country’s promise by sticking up for working class people, restoring fairness and opportunity to our system, and fighting for the good of all Americans — not just those at the top."

The Asian Americans candidates include Rep. T.J. Cox, a Filipino American in California; Rep. Andy Kim, a Korean American in New Jersey; Gina Ortiz Jones, a FilAm running in Texas' 23rd  Congressional District; Sri Preston Kulkarni, running in for the 22nd Congressional District seat in Texas; and Sara Gideon, an Indian American challenging Maine's U.S. Senator Susan Collins.

State office candidates receiving Obama's blessing are Ronnie Chatterji, running for North Carolina's Treasurer; and Bangladesh Nina Ahmad, a candidate for Auditor General for  Pennsylvania.

According to a statement from his office, Obama selected candidates “because their election would advance key goals: winning control of the U.S. Senate and holding the majority in the U.S. House; electing Democrats who will support fair redistricting in 2021; supporting alumni of his campaigns and Administration; and promoting diverse, emerging leaders for this time.”

Sri Preston Kulkarni, left, and Gina Ortiz Jones were among the candidates in Texas endorsed by Obama

Obama's endorsements were in 17 states but he lent his support to over two dozen candidates in Texas, the most of any state.

According to the press release, this list is only the first wave of candidates that he will back. More endorsements are sure to come from the former president, who is one of the most respected men in the country, according to polls. 

Obama's blessing is not always that impactful. We know what happened to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Of the candidates Obama endorsed in 2018 midterms, 232 won their elections and 110 candidates lost.

"They make me optimistic not just about our party’s chances in November, but about our country’s future long after that," said Obama. "So if you’re in one of their districts or states, make sure you vote for them this fall. And if you can, vote early — by mail or in person."

For the complete list of Obama endorsees, click here.

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. 

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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Texas Asian American candidates fall short in Congressional contests

GINA ORTIZ JONES

UPDATED: NOV. 7, 9 a.m. PST to reflect results of District 23.

THE TWO Asian American candidates, Gina Ortiz Jones and Sri Preston Kulkarni, failed in their bids to represent their Texas districts in Congress.

In District 23, the outcome is still not clear. Ortiz jones came agonizingly close to becoming the first Filipina American in Congress but lost by about 700 votes. The vote is close enough to warrant a recount but Ortiz Jones hasn't made an announcement whether or not  to request a recount.

By 3 a.m. in Texas, Jones' final talley was 102,214. She was beaten by incumbent Republican Will Hurd's 102,903 votes.

For a moment before 3 a.m., with a reported 100% of the vote in, it appeared that Ortiz Jones had eked out a victory over Hurd by about 300 votes causing news outlets to change their headlines declaring Hurd as the victor. Five minutes later, the final talley was revealed showing Hurd retaining his seat representing the 23rd District, a sprawling district that includes 820 miles of the Mexican-Texas border. 

At her headquarters, Jones told her supporters that it was "an amazing opportunity to give voice to the issues that matter to Texans all across Texas 23." This morning, Ortiz Jones has not officially conceded.

In her first bid for political office, she added: "So while it didn't shake out the way we would want, we ran a campaign that we are proud of and that really reflected Texas values."

Despite the close vote, Hurd declared victory. Hurd, a self-described Republican moderate who voted against the GOP attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, told the Houston Chronicle that his victory showed that "you don't have to exploit anger and fear to win an election."

SRI PRESTON KULKARNI

Hurd, one of only two Republican African Americans in Congress, thanked Jones and her supporters for "getting into the arena and engaging in the competition of ideas."

Jones, 37, an Iraq War veteran and a security advisor in the Obama White House, was seeking to become the first openly gay member of Congress from Texas.

In District 22, incumbent Pete Olsen beat outhis Democratic challenger Kulkarni, 152,318 votes to 137,500. 

Kulkarni's campaign was notable for his aggressive outreach to the large, but culturally and racially diverse, Asian American communities in the district.

“Probably the biggest challenge is getting to the people who aren't being spoken to, by anybody, Democrat or Republican," said the former foreign service officer.
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AAPI Vote 2018: Asian American first-time candidates face long odds

IF WE'RE TO BELIEVE the election polls - and we are still smarting from 2016 - Asian American first-time candidates have a tough row to hoe to win their races today.

Historically, a record number of AAPI candidates are funning for office this year and most likely, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus will wind up with the most members it has ever had.

Based on fivethirtyeight.com, the analytical website owned by ABC, a majority of AAPI candidates are going against the odds, mostly because they are running against incumbents, which always have the advantage over their opponents.

On the other hand, the incumbent advantage is also helping AAPI politicians who are seeking reelection. Most of them  appear to be shoo-ins for another term. Additionally, some of the first-timers are showing up unexpectedly well.

Democrats have the best chance of capturing the majority in the House of Representatives. Fivethirtyeight gives Democrats a 7 out of 8 chance of capturing the House majority.

Here's a look at some of the key races we've been following:

Sri Preston Kulkami, Texas District 22:Even though old political hands advised him not to waste his time going after the Asian American vote, Kulkami made a concerted effort to reach out to the large diverse Asian American community in his district that includes southern Houston and its suburbs. fivethirdeight gives him a 20% chance of making the district Democratic.  He's behind by 6 points so victory is within reach. If the AAPI communities do come out for him strongly, and Latinos show up, Kulkami could beat the odds, but that's a big if.

Gina Ortiz Jones, Texas District 23:The Filipina American is running in the conservative district that follows the Mexico-Texas border. She started out strong but lost that lead with the Senate hearing for Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to SCOTUS. According to fivethirtyeight, Ortiz Jones has a 2 in 9 chance of victory. The key is, Ortiz Jone could ride on the coattails of Beto O'Rourke who is from El Paso and appears to have activated a lot of first-time voters (people who the pollsters don't pick up). The new voters, plus a Latino surge in the oft-neglected border area could result in a Blue Wave and drown the 6 point advantage held by the GOP incumbent.

Hiral Tipineni, Arizona, District 8Despite doing way better than anyone expected in one of the most-Republican districts in the country, she appears to be falling short of an upset victory. Fivethirtyeight gives her a 1 in 5 chance of winning. Behind by 5 points, she has made it a closer race than expected. The X-factor is if she has been able to convince a lot of the solidly Republican senior citizen voters living in retirement in her district that their  Social Security and Medicare benefits are at risk of Trump and the GOP maintains their majority in Congress.

Andy Kim, New Jersey, District 3It's hard to predict this one. This race is a virtual tie with both candidates capturing about 49% of the votes with a very slight tilt towards Kim. In the closing days of the campaign, Republican Tom McArthur resorted to racist ads with the general theme of "othering" Kim -- he's not one of us" even though Kim was raised in the south Jersey district. If elected, Kim could be the first Korean American in the House.

TJ Cox, California, District 21Although Cox is given only a 1 in 5 chance of beating the Republican incumbent, he's only 7 points behind, a not so insurmountable advantage. If the so-called Blue Wave sweeps across the Midterms, Cox, a Filipino American, could pull off an upset.

Andrew Janz, California, District 22Janz has never run for an elected office before and his opponent, Devin Nunes has been in office since 2004. Yet, the Thai American candidate has given Nunes a real challenge, something he hasn't had since he was initially elected. Because Nunes is a high-profile Republican, seen as Trump's biggest defenders in the House, Janz has received some attention in the David vs. Goliath metaphore. Fivethirtyeight 1 in 20 chance of beating the incumbent who leads by 9 points.

Young Kim, California, District 39Kim, a Republican, and her Democratic rival Gil Cisneros are in a toss-up district with Cisneros leading Kim by a slim 1-point margin. In historically conservative Orange County, Kim could upset Cisneros if he can hold onto the Asian American vote but the diverse AAPI community is about evenly split between the two opponents. Cisneros has hired a host of bilingual Asian American staff to help him make inroads in this crucial electorate. If elected Kim could make history as the first Korean American congress member

With the larger than expected turnout for early voting, many of the polls, which were taken last week, don't reflect the last few days. A few points one way or the other can make a world of difference in some of these close races.

The only poll that matters now is the one that takes place today November 6.
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AAPI Vote 2018: Asian American voters could decide outcome of key Texas congressional race

KULKARNI FOR CONGRESS

Sri Preston Kulkarni (center) with some of his Asian American supporters.

By Andrew Schneider

Reprinted by Permission of Houston Public Media

ELECTION DAY is less than seven weeks away, and control of Congress is up for grabs. Texas has long offered something of a firewall for Republicans, with a majority of congressional districts drawn to favor GOP candidates. The state’s 22nd district seems a prime example.

“We have a lot of professional-class areas. I think it’s ethnically diverse, but conservative. I mean, it sort of represents the state of Texas very well,” says Scott Bowen, a Republican precinct chair in Clear Lake, near the eastern tip of the 22nd. The district includes suburban neighborhoods in Harris and Brazoria counties, along with most of Fort Bend County. Bowen has lived in the district since incumbent Congressman Pete Olson first ran for office a decade ago.

“I don’t think Pete Olson has really had meaningful opposition from the Democrats’ side,” Bowen says. Since beating his Democratic predecessor, Nick Lampson, Olson has won reelection by double digits every time. Before Lampson won the district in 2006, Republicans held it without interruption for 30 years.

But Jay Aiyer, who teaches political science at Texas Southern University, thinks 2018 could be different.

“The swing in the district has been and would largely be considered the Asian-American community,” Aiyer says. The 22nd has the highest concentration of Asian Americans of any congressional district in Texas. They comprise a diverse group: Indian Americans, Chinese Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and many others. On the whole, they tend to be better educated and more affluent than the average voter.

“Asian Americans in the district, particularly because of income reasons, had voted in the past for Republicans,” Aiyer says.

RELATED: Republican campaign ad backfires, offends Hindu Americans

But the GOP’s hard-right stance on immigration and its protectionist shift on trade has alienated many of those traditionally Republican voters. That’s provided an opening for the Democratic candidate: Sri Preston Kulkarni.

“The idea that you would have a candidate that can explicitly appeal to them has, I think, some value there,” Aiyer says. “He’s a unique candidate because of his background as a Foreign Service officer. He also happens to speak six languages.”

Kulkarni is fluent in Hindi and Mandarin Chinese, as well as Spanish. He’s been campaigning in those languages to reach native speakers in ways Pete Olson can’t.

“If you look at Fort Bend County, I see many Asians, they can’t even run in the Republican side,” says Shapnik Khan, a Democratic precinct chair from Katy. Born in Bangladesh, Khan is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He’s been active in Fort Bend politics for the past decade.

“But who is giving you that opportunity? It’s the Democratic Party. And the Asian Americans need to understand who is giving us the better platform,” Khan says. Kulkarni is one of six Asian-American candidates on the ballot in Fort Bend this November, all of them Democrats.

But even if Asian Americans vote Democratic en masse, they only represent a fifth of the district’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To win, Kulkarni also needs to mobilize Latinos, African Americans, and a lot more voters like Mark Evans.

Evans moved to the Houston-area from Indiana more than 30 years ago. He’s right in Pete Olson’s target demographic. He’s white, married, and he’s voted Republican in the past.

“I do consider myself anti-incumbent,” Evans says, “due to the over $20 trillion we’re in debt, and frankly I’m just tired of the same-old, same-old from our elected officials.”

Evans says he plans to vote for Kulkarni, in no small part because of Olson’s spending habits in Congress. But spending is also one of Olson’s biggest strengths. The Republican congressman is sitting on a campaign war chest more than double what Kulkarni has. How Olson uses that money in the coming weeks could make all the difference.

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Offensive GOP ad directed at Hindu voters backfires in Texas

TEXAS REPUBLICANS use of a Hindu deity on a campaign ad may have had the opposite effect the GOP wanted.

The ad used an image of of Lord Ganesha in place of the GOP's elephant mascot, urging support of the Republican Party.

The ad appeared to be an attempt to reach out to Hindu voters on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and urged Indian American Hindu voters in the county to vote Republican by asking, “Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours,” the foundation said in a news release.

“While we appreciate the Fort Bend County GOP’s attempt to reach out to Hindus on an important Hindu festival, its ad — equating Hindus’ veneration of the Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party based on its animal symbol – is problematic and offensive,” Rishi Bhutada, Hindu American Foundation board member and a Fort Bend County resident, said in a statement.

The Fort Bend GOP responded with the following statement:

“The ad was meant to be part of the celebration and acknowledge the occasion. The ad was not meant to disparage Hindu customs or traditions in any way. This ad was created with input from those of Hindu faith so that we could properly pay respect to the sacred festival. This highlights the difficulty in outreach that can be positive for one group but not for another in the same community. We offer our sincerest apologies to anyone that was offended by the ad. Obviously, that was not the intent.”

It may have made sense for Republicans to outreach to that population since an Indian American is the Democratic candidate for Congressional District 22. Asians and Pacific Islanders make up 21 percent of the population, almost four times the national average.

“Equating Hindus’ worship of Ganesh with a political party’s symbol is wrong and promotes inaccurate stereotypes about the Hindu-American community,” Sri Preston Kulkarni, who’s running against Republican incumbent Pete Olson for a congressional seat in District 22,. “No party should use a religious icon in an attack ad,” he wrote on Facebook.

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AAPI Vote 2018: Two Asian American novices will challenge Republican incumbents in Texas

Gina Ortiz Jones is the Democra' nominee for Texas' 23rd Congressional District.

TWO ASIAN AMERICANS won their party's nomination in Tuesday's Texas run-off elections.

Austin's Gina Ortiz Jones, 37, and Houston's Sri Preston Kulkarni, 36, topped the Democratic Party contests in the 23rd and 22nd Congressional Districts, respectively.

Ortiz Jones, a Filipina/American, beat Rick Trevino, a former high school teacher, with more than 17,000 votes, or more than twice as many as Trevino.

"Gina will be a strong, principled representative for hardworking, middle class Texans and these results show her grassroots campaign is building momentum and will be highly competitive in November," said Ben Ray Luján, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a statement. 

If she wins in November against Republican Rep. Will Hurd, Ortiz Jones will be the first lesbian, first Iraq War veteran and first Filipina/American to represent Texas in Congress.

Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, worked as a federal employee under two presidents of both parties. She thought she could continue working in the Trump administration but quit when she saw the policies he was implementing.

Ortiz Jones' November opponent is well-financed and has served in Congress for two terms. District 23 leans Republican but has elected Democrats in the past. In 2016, the district went for Hillary Clinton. The district has been targeted by the Democratic Party as one that could flip to their ranks.

Kulkami beat his Democratic rival almost two-to-one but the road ahead for Kulkami in District 22 will be even tougher.

The Indian/American, a 14-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, will try to upset five-term GOP Rep. Pete Olson this November.

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Sri Preston Kulkami is challenging an incumbent to represent the 22 District in Texas.

Trump carried the district by 8 points in 2016 but it is also one of the most diverse districts in Texas so immigration may be a big issue in November. In addition, Santa Fe High School where 10 people were killed last week, is a Houston suburb, will likely make gun control, anathema to Republicans, an issue in the 22nd.

"We can't actually do our job and we can't represent America when the government is not representing America. If this is what America represents, then I need to change that," he said.

"As we look ahead, let us remember what is at stake this fall. We are fighting for the students who fear gun terror in their schools; we are fighting for immigrant families who are seeking the American Dream; we are fighting for the teachers and everyday heroes struggling to support their families. Tonight we celebrate, but tomorrow we strive forward to bring decency back to our country," he said.

In both districts, Democrats hope that the anti-Trump sentiment that spurred ehtnusiasm among their volunteers and voters and the momentum generated by their campaigns will continue into November. 

Democrats have done a better job of registering voters for the Primary and Runoff. That effort will most likely intensify until Aug. 20, the last day for voter registration.

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