Sugar Land's Pete Olson Won't Seek 7th Congressional Term

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sugar Land Republican Pete Olson, who has served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced on Thursday that he plans to retire in 2020. Olson, 56, who has served the 22nd Congressional District since 2009, said in a statement that he needs to be a "more consistent presence" as his mother-in-law deals with her personal health issues.

"For six terms, the voters of our district have placed their faith in me to represent their concerns in the House of Representatives. The time I have spent working with them and for them has been a tremendous blessing. It is truly impossible to quantify how many inspiring, generous, heroic, and kind-hearted neighbors I have been fortunate to meet, work with, and learn from throughout my time in Congress," Olson said in a statement.

A number of local Democrats have announced their intentions to run for Olson's seat including Pearland's Nyanza Davis Moore, Sugar Land's Sri Kulkarni, who narrowly lost to Olson in the midterm election, and Pearland councilman Derrick Reed who made his announcement on Monday.

So far, no one from the Republican party has announced their intention to run. The 22nd Congressional District stretches along the southwest Houston corridor and includes Katy, Sugar Land, and Pearland, and is one of the most racially diverse regions in Houston and Texas.

Olson will become the third Texas Congressman to retire in recent years. In 2018, Republican Ted Poe and Democrat Gene Greene both retired after successful political careers.

Click here to read Olson's full statement.