Is Anyone Really Ready For Another Bush In Politics?

On Sunday, Abby Livingston and Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune reported that George H.W. Bush's grandson, Pierce Bush, is ready to get into the family business. He was going to run against freshman Democratic backbencher Lizzie Fletcher in grandpa's old seat (TX-07), but when Republican Pete Olson announced he's retiring in a nearby district (TX-22)-- hey what the hell... TX-07, TX-22, whatever works for his career is what he and any politician generally cares about. Besides, TX-22 is a lot easier for a Republican (R+10) compared to TX-07 (R+7), which Hillary won. He officially announced this morning.

In 2018, Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni took 46.5% of the vote to Olson's 51.4% in this suburban district mostly in blue-trending Fort Bend County but also including swingy parts of Brazoria and Harris counties. Last cycle Olson and Kulkarni each raised around a million and a half dollars. This time Kulkarni is off to a strong lead, having already taken in $766,039. Self-funder Kathaleen Wall (R) ran in TX-02 last cycle, spending $6,169,732 to lose the primary. So far she's put just over $600,000 into the TX-22 primary. Two other Republicans have raised significant money, Greg Hill ($217,553) and Felicia Harris, another self-funder ($211,247), in a race that now includes 16 Republicans, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls having announced his own Republican candidacy on Saturday.

This morning the Houston Chronicle reminded readers that the race is crowded and that no one is ceding the seat to Bush. "A vaping-business owner, a professional sitar player, a sheriff and a former border patrol agent are among a growing field of candidates competing in a Fort Bend County-based district that has fast become one of the hottest congressional races in the nation." Pierce doesn't live in the district and didn't really have anything to say other than some gratuitous nonsense about "socialism!!" in this slick and vapid campaign announcement video: