Pete Olson Peter Graham " Pete " Olson ( born December 9 , 1962 ) is the U . S . Representative for , serving since 2009 . He is a member of the Republican Party . The district includes much of southeastern Houston , as well as most of the city ' s southern suburbs such as Pearland and Sugar Land . Early life , education , and military service . Peter Graham Olson was born on December 9 , 1962 in Fort Lewis , Washington . In 1972 , Olson moved with his family to Seabrook , Texas , a southeast suburb of Houston ; and attended public schools , graduating from Clear Lake High School in 1981 . In 1985 , Olson graduated from Rice University , where he played college basketball his freshman year , earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science . Upon graduation , Olson enrolled in law school at the University of Texas at Austin . He completed the Texas Bar Exam in 1988 and joined the United States Navy . Olson served in the United States Navy for nine years . He entered the Navy in 1988 , and earned his Naval Aviator wings in March 1991 . After earning his wings as a P - 3C Orion pilot , post - Gulf War , he flew missions over the Persian Gulf , the Indian Ocean , and the Pacific . In 1994 , he was assigned as a Naval liaison to the United States Senate , during which time he assisted Republican U . S . Senator Phil Gramm on several overseas trips . Early political career . After leaving active military duty , he joined Senator Gramm ' s staff in 1998 . After Gramm ' s retirement from the Senate in 2002 , Olson served as Chief of Staff to Gramm ' s successor , U . S . senator and former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn , from December 2002 until May 2007 . U . S . House of Representatives . Elections . 2008 . He defeated incumbent Democratic Representative Nick Lampson in the general election on November 4 , 2008 . Olson received 53 % of the vote and Lampson received 45 % . Olson had won the Republican nomination by defeating former Congresswoman Shelley Sekula - Gibbs in the April 8 , 2008 , run - off election . Democratic candidate Nick Lampson won in 2006 when the 11 - term Republican incumbent , former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay , was indicted . DeLay ' s resignation came too late for another Republican to replace him on the ballot , so Lampson defeated a Republican running as a write - in candidate . An October 22 , 2008 , poll by John Zogby and the " Houston Chronicle " stated that Olson had a 17 point lead over Lampson . On October 30 , 2008 , Larry Sabato predicted in the Crystal Ball that Olson ' s Congressional would be a race that would be a " Republican Pick Up . " Lampson was considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the House , due to the district ' s heavily Republican tilt . With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R + 15 , it was the fourth most Republican district in the nation to be represented by a Democratic representative . George W . Bush carried the 22nd with 64 percent of the vote in 2004 . Because of the unusual circumstances in District 22 , the race attracted national attention . In 2007 , Stuart Rothenberg called the district " arguably the best Republican takeover opportunity in the country " . After Olson was nominated , the Electoral - vote . com website identified his campaign as " probably the GOP ' s best pickup opportunity for 2008 . " " The Hill " , a leading Washington , D . C . political newspaper , has stated that Olson ' s victory over Sekula Gibbs has set " up one of the top House races in the country in a conservative Houston district . " Olson is expected to be well funded . In 2007 , Olson announced he would run for the Republican nomination in the 22nd District . He was one of 10 Republicans in the field . Also running were Sekula - Gibbs , former Pasadena mayor John Manlove , former Sugar Land mayor Dean Hrbacek , State Representative Robert Talton , Senior District Judge Jim Squier , Texas State Board of Education member Cynthia Dunbar , and three minor candidates . Sekula - Gibbs won the first round with 29 . 72 % . Olson finished second , with 20 . 72 % . As Sekula - Gibbs finished well short of the majority needed to win the nomination outright , Olson and Sekula - Gibbs advanced to a runoff in April . Sekula - Gibbs criticized Olson as " a Washington insider . . . [ who ] moved here just six months ago to run . " Nevertheless , 12 of Texas ' 19 Republican congressmen endorsed Olson in the primary . Olson won the April 8 runoff in a rout , taking 69 percent of the vote to Sekula - Gibbs ' 31 percent . Olson faced Lampson in the general election , and John Wieder , the Libertarian Party candidate . Many election experts considered the race one of the best opportunities for the Republicans to pick up a Democratic seat . The " Southern Political Report " placed the race on its watch list because the district ' s roots are solidly Republican and Lampson won the seat with only 52 % against a write - in candidate . On June 20 , 2008 , the " Washington Post " ' s " The Fix " commented on the Congressional race : " it ' s hard to see Rep . Nick Lampson ( D ) winning reelection . Lampson ' s slim hopes got even slimmer " with the nomination of Olson . Olson and Lampson agreed to a debate of the issues on October 20 , 2008 , in Rosenberg , Texas . In the November election , Olson defeated Lampson with 53 percent of the vote to Lampson ' s 45 percent . He won four of the district ' s five counties . At the end of March 2008 , Olson ' s campaign was technically in debt , with almost $ 128 , 000 on hand and a debt to the candidate , who provided a personal loan of $ 175 , 000 . On June 5 , 2008 , Vice President Dick Cheney visited Houston to raise money for Olson ' s Congressional campaign . The event took place at the home of Houston billionaire Dan Duncan . Through three months ending September 30 , 2008 , Olson raised more money than Lampson . Olson raised $ 312 , 700 and Lampson only raised $ 149 , 000 . 2010 . Olson won re - election with 67 % of the vote against Democratic challenger Kesha Rogers . Tenure . On July 24 , 2013 , Olson voted to continue funding NSA surveillance of U . S . citizens who are not suspected of committing any crime , in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights . During the campaign , Olson claimed he was a better fit for the district than Lampson . Olson told " Wall Street Journal " reporter Leslie Eaton that " I have conservative values , and he ( Lampson ) doesn ' t . " Indeed , not long after being sworn in , Olson joined the Republican Study Committee , a caucus of conservative House Republicans . Olson opposes the current incarnation of Interstate 69 , which since 2002 has been part of Governor Rick Perry ' s controversial Trans - Texas Corridor , a project Gramm did not provide funding for as a U . S . Senator . The previous incarnation of I - 69 ( which Gramm did fund ) was slated to go through the current U . S . Highway 59 which passes through Houston and outlying suburbs such as Sugar Land and Humble . Caucus Memberships . Constitution Caucus , Aerospace Caucus , General Aviation Caucus , Coal Caucus , Balanced Budget Amendment Caucus , Natural Gas Caucus , National Guard and Reserve Caucus , Beef Caucus , Gulf Coast Caucus , Cystic Fibrosis Caucus , Taiwan Caucus , Ports to Plains Caucus , Diabetes Caucus , Rice Caucus Personal life . Olson lives in Sugar Land with his wife Nancy and their two children , Kate and Grant and their dog Riley .