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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Filipina American concedes Texas congressional race

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Gina Ortiz Jones during a press conference last week.

VIRGINIA'S REP. BOBBY SCOTT will remain the lone Filipino American in the U.S. Congress after Gina Ortiz Jones ended her quest in Texas.

While Scott was unopposed in his Nov. 6 midterm contest, it took almost two weeks to determine the winner of Congressional District 23. Ortiz Jones ran a tough aggressive campaign narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Rep. Will Hurd by a little more than 1,000 votes.

“Our campaign was based on the belief that everyone is equal – equally deserving to be heard at the ballot box and served in our communities. We worked hard to make this a reality, understanding this is the only path toward the more perfect union that our founders envisioned," Jones said in a statement sent out via social media.

Hurd, whose campaign received massive amounts of PAC funds is the only African American Republican in Congress issued a statement thanking his family and supporters.

"I want to thank my opponent and her supporters for engaging in the democratic process. To thrive, our democracy needs a vigorous competition of ideas, and whether you voted for me or not, I will need your help," said Hurd.

Ortiz Jones' concession thus skipping a possible recount surprised some supporters because she showed no sign of giving up, accepting the invitation to attend the freshmen orientation session in Washington last week. 

If Ortiz Jones had won, she would have been the first Filipina American to serve in Congress. She was one of five Filipino Americans running for Congress in the midterm elections. Scott was the only one to win, running unopposed for his 14th term. Republican Christina Osmena and Democrats TJ Cox of California and Jennifer Mijaris-Zimmerman of Florida did not succeed in their bid to unseat incumbents

(UPDATE: As of Nov. 21, the race for California's District 21 with TJ Cox running against a Republican incumbent is still too close to call.)

From left: Rep. Bobby Scott, Christina Osmena and Jennifer Mijares-Zimmerman.

Texas's sprawling 23rd District stretches from the western suburbs of San Antonio to the eastern suburbs of El Paso in the far-west tip of the state and includes 800-miles of the Texas-Mexico border.

A week after Election Day, Jones said Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen had not made public the list of provisional voters in the race, making it difficult for voters to ensure their ballots officially counted.

“We’ve had issues in Bexar County providing information that should be a matter of public record,” Ortiz Jones said in a news conference. “This includes the list of folks that voted via provisional ballot.”

Last week, the former Air Force intelligence officer, sued the Bexar County election administrator for not making public a list of provisional voters and asked for a 48-hour extension for the counting of their ballots.

Ortiz Jones' hopes were dashed when a Bexar County judge denied the deadline extension to validate provisional ballots. She had to depend only on the validated votes by the deadline.

The Blue Wave that swept through some Republican-held Congressional seats, especially in California, didn't have as huge an impact in Texas although Democrats were able to unseat two House Republicans. However, that was tempered in the State Legislature where Republicans increased their majority in the Senate.

Although Democrats were able to win over 54% of Latino voters, Democrats needed a better turnout and a greater percentage of Latinos to overcome the traditionally conservative state. 

Nevertheless, the impressive showing of Beto O'Rourke in challenging incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, and the performances of Gina Ortiz Jones and Sri Preston Kulkarni in the 22nd Congressional District give Democrats hope that changing demographics of the Lone Star state may turn Texas purple by 2020.

"Turning Texas blue is not an event, it's a process," state Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in an interview with the Texas Tribune, "and I think 2020 will put us, if not blue, purple — deep purple."

Editor's note: Earlier versions of this article did not have the results for TJ Cox running in California's District 21.

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Hey Texas! Last minute appeal by Democrat candidate Gina Ortiz Jones

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Gina Ortiz Jones reminds voters to cast their provisional ballots.

CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE Gina Ortiz Jones made a last minute reminder for Texas voters in District 23 to cast their provisional ballots. The deadline to send in those ballots is ttoday (Tuesday, Nov. 13) at 5 p.m.

Ortiz Jones, the Filipino American Iraq war veteran is narrowly behind incumbent Republican Will Hurd. Over the Veterans Day weekend, Democrat Gina Ortiz-Jones refused to concede and insisted the tight contest with Hurd was “not over” until every ballot was counted.

It is unclear just how many absentee, provisional and military ballots must now be counted  29-county district. Given the closeness of the race—roughly half-a-percentage point or about 700 votes, separating Ortiz Jones and Hurd — it is likely a recount will be ordered under Lone Star State election law.

The contest in Texas' sprawling District 23, the largest in the state which includes over 800 miles of border with Mexico, is one of three campaigns involving AAPI candidates still not called. However, it is the tightest race of the three.

The other two tight races involves Andy Kim in New Jersey's District 3 and Young Kim in California's District 39. Both of these candidates hold slim leads over their opponents. 

Andy Kim has declared victory but the final count hasn't been officially announced and his GOP rival, Tom MacArthur, hasn't conceded.

Young Kim, a Republican competing in conservative Orange County against Democrat Gil Cisneros, has withheld any proclamations of victory but holds about a 2,600 lead over her opponent.

If she wins, Ortiz Jones would be the first Filipina American elected to Congress. 

District 23 (shaded in green, left) is the largest district in Texas and includes the majority of the Texas-Mexico border.

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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: Two Asian/Americans face runoff elections in Texas Congressional races

Sri Kulkami

ASAM NEWS

SRI KULKAMI has advanced in the Congressional race for the Democratic nomination in Texas’ 22nd Congressional district.

The Indian/American candidate joins Filipina/American Gina Ortiz Jones who also topped the Democratic candidates for Congressional District 23. The two Asian/American novice politicians will have runoff elections on May 22 to determine who would face off their Republican opponents in November.

India West reports Kulkami advanced from a field of five candidates with 32 percent of the vote. He bested second place vote getter Letitia Plummer by just under 8 percent. The two will face off on May 22 for the right to go against Republican incumbent Pete Olson who won his primary with 78 percent of the vote.

Kulkarni remains confident.

“When I began this journey, I aimed to bring reason, compassion and decency into our government,” he said on Facebook. “People said it was impossible. Many said it was risky. Others said it was pointless, but I knew I had to do something. I met with and listen to thousands of people in District 22 on how to make that much needed change possible.”

(Views From the Edge contributed to this report.)
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