Thousands of dollars are flowing into the race for Congressional District 22.
This is a seat Republican Congressman Pete Olson has held for a decade. His Democratic challenger is a newcomer to politics, but not to public service.
“Probably the biggest challenge is getting to the people who aren’t being spoken to, by anybody, Democrat or Republican,” said Democratic candidate Sri Kulkarni.
This is the first time Kulkarni has run for office. For 14 years he served as a U. S. foreign service officer and then as a foreign policy and defense advisor on Capitol Hill. Kulkarni said he spurred to run for office by what he believes is an unhealthy division in our country.
“Right now, my country is (in) danger, not from a certain person or a certain party, but the tension that’s ripping our society apart right now,” Kulkarni said.
Pictures posted to his campaign’s social media accounts show Olson meeting with voters in the final hours of the election. The retired naval aviator has easily won his last four elections in a district that remains largely Republican. Olson’s campaign was unable to provide KPRC with his day’s itinerary or a time to meet with the congressman ahead of the polls closing.
The candidates have been neck-and-neck in fundraising over the last year. Campaign filings show Olson raised $1.4 million to Kulkarni’s $1.1 million. Just in the last week, more than $11,000 was donated to Olson’s campaign, with Kulkarni’s campaign taking in nearly $44,000.
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