Second Democrat launches challenge to Crenshaw in 2nd Congressional District

Former Homeland Security Department employee Travis Olsen this week joined the race for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District Former Homeland Security Department employee Travis Olsen this week joined the race for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District Photo: Travis Olsen Campaign Photo: Travis Olsen Campaign Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Second Democrat launches challenge to Crenshaw in 2nd Congressional District 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

Former Homeland Security Department employee Travis Olsen this week joined the race for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, becoming the second Democrat to vie for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston.

Olsen, who filed his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday and launched his campaign Thursday, said he would seek to "provide an alternative” for residents “looking to move past partisanship and polarized politics,” contending that Crenshaw has not sought common ground with Democrats during his first term.

"We need leaders in Congress who are going to put country above party,” Olsen said in an interview. "And what we have seen is that Rep. Crenshaw will just follow the party line, follow the president, in his choices."

Crenshaw, a first-term congressman, has emerged as one of the most prominent members of his freshman class, raising nearly $3 million in his first nine months on the job and sparring often with Democrats in widely circulated social media posts.

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The district, which Crenshaw won by about 7 points last year, runs from West Houston to Humble to Atascocita. It is not among the seats being explicitly targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the political arm of House Democrats which included six Texas districts on its “battlefield map."

Olsen, 37, said he was born and raised in the district, attending schools in Spring Branch ISD. He began working at the homeland security department in 2012, interviewing asylum-seekers before being stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, where he negotiated the release of political prisoners during the restoration of diplomatic relations there. The Trump administration’s family separation policy in part prompted Olsen to leave the department, he said.

To take on Crenshaw, Olsen first would have to win a Democratic primary next year that already includes Elisa Cardnell, a Navy veteran who filed her candidacy in February.

In response to Olsen's campaign launch, Cardnell said in a statement that the race "has been, since day one, about how we put country over party and defeat Dan Crenshaw in 2020."

"We’ve been making the case now for six months; if we want to hold Dan Crenshaw accountable for voting against lower prescription drug costs and against reauthorizing the national flood insurance program, it’s going to take a female veteran who can make him come to the table and talk about the issues, not just his past service," Cardnell said.

In a news release announcing his candidacy, Olsen emphasized immigration reform and providing coverage for preexisting health conditions, among other issues. Olson said that while he sees the “appeal” of Medicare for All, he believes people should have the option to keep their private health insurance.

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