George H.W. Bush grandson to enter Texas congressional race

Pierce Bush, the grandson of the late President George H.W. Bush, will file for an open congressional seat in Texas on Monday, according to an email written by his father, Neil Bush, that was obtained by The Texas Tribune.

Pierce Bush, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, will announce his candidacy for Texas’s 22nd District, which is currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Pete Olson, the newspaper reported. 

{mosads}In the email obtained by the Tribune, Neil Bush touts his son’s nonprofit sector work and asks friends to donate to the campaign.

The filing deadline to run for the seat is Monday.

Pierce Bush will join a crowded field of at least a dozen Republicans who have announced bids for the Houston-area seat. A few Democrats have also launched campaigns for the seat in the once-Republican stronghold. 

Olson carried the district by 19 points in 2016, but his lead shrunk to just about 5 points in 2018 against Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni, who is running again in 2020.

The Cook Political Report ranks the 22nd District a “Republican toss-up” ahead of the 2020 race. 

Bush had been publicly considering a run for a different House seat, Texas’s 7th, which was held by his late grandfather. Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher flipped that seat in 2018, defeating incumbent Rep. John Culberson (R) and becoming the first Democrat to hold the seat in decades.