| Texas's 22nd congressional district | ||
|---|---|---|
| Current Representative | Pete Olson (R–Sugar Land) | |
| Population (2000) | 651,619 | |
| Median income | $57,932 | |
| Ethnicity | 71.3% White, 9.4% Black, 8.0% Asian, 20.3% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% other | |
| Cook PVI | R+13 | |
Texas District 22 of the United States House of Representatives is the Congressional district that covers a south-central portion of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. It includes the cities of Rosenberg and La Marque as well as portions of Missouri City and Pearland, in Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and Brazoria counties. The district also includes the Johnson Space Center. In 2006, 52% of poll respondents identified themselves as Republicans, 32% as Democrats, and 16% as independents.[1]
The district is represented by Pete Olson, who defeated incumbent Democrat Nick Lampson on November 4, 2008.[2]
Contents |
| Representative | Party | Years | District home | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created | January 3, 1959 | |||
| Robert R. Casey | Democratic | January 3, 1959 - January 22, 1976 | Resigned after being appointed as a commissioner to the United States Maritime Commission | |
| Vacant | January 22, 1976 – April 3, 1976 | |||
| Ron Paul | Republican | April 3, 1976 - January 3, 1977 | ||
| Robert Gammage | Democratic | January 3, 1977 - January 3, 1979 | ||
| Ron Paul | Republican | January 3, 1979 - January 3, 1985 | ||
| Tom DeLay | Republican | January 3, 1985 - June 9, 2006 | Resigned | |
| Vacant | June 9, 2006 – November 13, 2006 | |||
| Shelley Sekula-Gibbs | Republican | November 13, 2006 - January 3, 2007 | ||
| Nick Lampson | Democratic | January 3, 2007 - January 3, 2009 | ||
| Pete Olson | Republican | January 3, 2009 - Present | Incumbent | |
Incumbent Democrat Robert R. Casey defeated ob/gyn Ron Paul, a delegate to the Texas Republican convention; Democrats won 1974 heavily.
When President Gerald Ford appointed Casey to head the Federal Maritime Commission, Paul won a 1976 special election to fill the empty seat, against Democrat Robert Gammage; Paul was sworn in on April 3. Paul had decided to enter politics on August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon closed the "gold window" by implementing the U.S. dollar's complete departure from the gold standard, saying later, "After that day, all money would be political money rather than money of real value. I was astounded."[3]
Paul was the first Republican representative from the area for some time; he also led the Texas Reagan delegation at the national Republican convention.[4] His successful campaign against Gammage surprised local Democrats, who had expected to retain the seat easily in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Gammage underestimated Paul's support among local mothers: "I had real difficulty down in Brazoria County, where he practiced, because he'd delivered half the babies in the county. There were only two obstetricians in the county, and the other one was his partner."[5]
Gammage defeated Paul some months later in the general election, by fewer than 300 votes (0.2%).
Paul defeated Gammage in a 1978 rematch.
Paul won a new term in 1980.
Paul won a new term in 1982.
In 1984, Paul chose to run for the U.S. Senate instead of re-election to the House.[6] He was succeeded by former state representative Tom DeLay.[7]
| U.S. House election, 2004: Texas District 22 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Tom DeLay | 150,386 | 55.2 | -8.0 | |
| Democratic | Richard Morrison | 112,034 | 41.1 | +6.0 | |
| Independent | Michael Fjetland | 5,314 | 1.9 | +1.9 | |
| Libertarian | Tom Morrison | 4,886 | 1.8 | +0.8 | |
| Majority | 38,352 | 14.1 | |||
| Turnout | 272,620 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | -7.0 | |||
On January 2, 2006, Nick Lampson, a Jefferson County tax assessor-collector, filed to challenge incumbent Tom DeLay for the 2006 general election, as a Democrat. Lampson had represented the adjacent ninth district until DeLay engineered the 2003 Texas redistricting, after which Lampson lost his seat to Republican Ted Poe in 2004.
DeLay won the Republican primary on March 7, 2006, taking 62% of the vote in the four-way race.[8] It was DeLay's weakest showing in a primary election, which prompted questions about whether he could win the general election. On April 3, 2006, three days after former aide Tony Rudy pleaded guilty to various charges of corruption relating to the Jack Abramoff scandal, DeLay announced that he would withdraw from the race and not run for re-election.[9][10]
Under Texas law, however, the Republican Party could not legally name another candidate for the 2006 general election. DeLay announced on August 8, 2006 that he would withdraw in order to allow the party to organize a campaign for a write-in candidate. Texas Governor Rick Perry announced on August 29, 2006 that a special election would take place for the remainder of DeLay's term (November 2006 to January 2007).
The Texas Republican Party supported Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as their write-in candidate.[11] Lampson chose not to run in the special election. Sekula-Gibbs won and was sworn in on November 13, 2006. She represented the district for the remaining few weeks of the 109th United States Congress. Sekula-Gibbs promised to fix health care, taxes, and immigration.
Due to DeLay's late announcement, no Republican was listed on the ballot for the two-year term that began in January 2007.[12]
The special election was held concurrently with the general election on November 7, 2006. Voters cast votes twice on that date, once for the special election, once for the general election. This arrangement ensured that Sekula-Gibbs's name appeared on a November 7 ballot.
Lampson won the general election, and was sworn in on January 4, 2007.
| U.S. House election, 2006: Texas District 22[13] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Nick Lampson | 71,122 | 50.8 | +9.7 | |
| Republican | Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (write-in) | 59,914 | 42.8 | -12.4 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Smither | 8,482 | 6.1 | +4.2 | |
| Republican | Don Richardson (write-in) | 408 | 0.3 | ||
| Independent | Joe Reasbeck (write-in) | 86 | 0.1 | ||
| Majority | 11,208 | 8.0 | -6.1 | ||
| Turnout | 140,012 | ||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
In addition to Sekula-Gibbs, the following candidates ran in the Republican primary:
Pete Olson and Nick Lampson faced each other in 2008 general election, along with John Wieder, Libertarian, Vietnam veteran, retired businessman, and community volunteer.
Pete Olson won the general election on November 4, 2008, and was sworn into office in January 2009.
In 2010, Olson defeated Kesha Rogers, a LaRouche Movement supporter, in the general election on November 2, 2010.[15]
|
|||||