Republican Rep. Pete Olson of Texas announced he won’t seek reelection, presenting a potential 2020 Democratic pick-up opportunity in a rapidly diversifying state that’s becoming more politically competitive.
Olson, a Texas Republican and former naval aviator who has represented the suburbs southwest of Houston since 2009, released a statement late Thursday ahead of the August congressional recess attributing his retirement to family pressures.
“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,” said the House Energy and Commerce Committee member, 56.
But National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer was confident Thursday that Texas’ 22nd Congressional District would remain in GOP hands, despite it trending blue due to demographic shifts. Olson won his 2018 bid by only 5 percentage points.
“I’d like to thank Pete for his years of service to Texas and the nation and wish him well in his retirement,” Emmer wrote. “Whoever the socialist Democrats nominate will be forced to defend their party’s radical agenda of socialized medicine and killing oil and gas jobs with the Green New Deal in a solid Republican district.”
The district, portions of which were previously represented by then-Rep. Ron Paul, a libertarian conservative, and then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, has a ten-point Republican voter registration edge. But its fast-growing Hispanic communities, and Democratic targeting of Texas in the 2020 presidential race, present a potential, if long-shot, pickup opportunity for Democrats.
Olson announced his retirement a day after Rep. Paul Mitchell, a Michigan Republican who has represented a sprawling area north of Detroit for two terms. The pair had been critical of President Trump’s tweets, and Mitchell voiced concern on Wednesday about how “rhetoric overwhelms policy” on Capitol Hill.
So far this cycle, an additional three other House Republicans are retiring, though one, Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, is reportedly reconsidering. Two House Democrats are headed for the exits without seeking higher office.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, however, shrugged off criticism that the political toxicity of President Trump and Washington politics was creating a recruitment problem for his conference.
“No, I think the reason people retire is their own personal decision in the time and place where they are. Some people retire because the voters decide to retire [them] and they still want to stay. That’s the makeup of our government,” the California Republican told reporters earlier Thursday.
