U.S. Congress, Texas 22nd District
For the first time ever, Texas' 22nd Congressional District is being represented by a liberal Democrat. It is one of the top three "pick-up" seats in the country for Republicans and a race all Texans will be watching.
Pete Olson is running for the Republican nomination in this seat to take on Democrat Nick Lampson. He is a distinguished and decorated Navy veteran - having served for nine years and flown missions over the Persian Gulf, South China Sea, much of the Pacific.
After his service in the Navy, Pete was asked by then Senator Phil Gramm to join his staff in Washington working on military and defense issues. After Senator Gramm retired, Senator John Cornyn asked Pete to be his Chief of Staff - a position that Pete held for the last five years before moving back to the 22nd District.
Pete is very concerned about the damage the Democrat leadership in Congress has brought in the last eight months: de-funding our troops in the field, raising taxes significantly, creating new tax-funded benefits for illegal aliens, and increased power for labor unions and plaintiff lawyers.
• Pete will be a defense and national security hawk in Congress. He believes the federal government's first and highest priority is to protect our country.
• He believes free and market-based economies work best for America and will fight to make sure a liberal Congress doesn't strangle the economic growth and opportunities our entrepreneurs create.
• Pete also believes our government spends too much and evaluates itself too little. He will work to identify and sunset programs and spending that is redundant, wasteful, or simply un-needed.
• Protecting and growing the middle-class families of our country will also be a focus for Pete. They are the engine of our economy and backbone of our nation. Pete will introduce new tax-relief and tax-credits to help ensure families can meet their priorities and secure their future.
