A Navy veteran and science teacher filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to challenge newly elected Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston Republican and former Navy SEAL, in 2020.
Democrat Elisa Cardnell, 32, announced her campaign on Twitter in early January with a online fundraiser that labels her a “Navy Veteran, Teacher, and Mom tired of unethical leaders in DC.” She said she filed Thursday.
Cardnell studied political science and has both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rice University.
She spent five years on active duty, rising to the rank of lieutenant in the Navy, according to the Houston Chronicle. She also spent nearly six years in the Navy reserves before leaving in early 2018.
“Before 2016, I tried to stay out of politics, especially since as a member of the military I viewed my role as necessarily nonpartisan — at least in public life,” Cardnell told the Chronicle. “But now I feel that I have to do something, and my entire career of serving my country and my community has led me to this point.”
Cardnell will challenge Republican Rep. Crenshaw, R-Texas, in the state’s 2nd Congressional District — a seat the freshman won in the 2018 midterm elections, defeating Democrat Todd Litton. Crenshaw, 34, spent 10 years as a Navy SEAL. The lieutenant commander served in Afghanistan, where he was injured by an IED explosion that caused him to lose his right eye.
Houston #TX02 doesn’t need an SNL guest to play games in Congress.
I’m a veteran, a science teacher, and a mom. I’m not here to play.
See you on the campaign trail, @DanCrenshawTX! https://t.co/stTy5DjTFZ pic.twitter.com/atKciSX5M7— Elisa Cardnell (@ElisaCardnell) February 9, 2019
“Houston #TX02 doesn’t need an SNL guest to play games in Congress,” Cardnell said on Friday, taking a jab at her future opponent. “I’m not here to play. See you on the campaign trail, @DanCrenshawTX!”
America needs “ethical leaders in Washington, D.C., and around the country, who are idealistic enough to believe that real change can happen,” Cardnell wrote on her fundraising site, which has amassed more than $1,200 of its $5,000 goal. “That is why I am once more answering the call to serve my country.”
