Texas Dem House Candidate Kim Olson: “If People Loot, So What? Burn It To the Ground”

There is a lot of chatter of the possibility of Texas turning blue.

But radical statements by Democrats, including Olson, could potentially spark a backlash and alienate Texan voters.

The Washington Examiner confirms Olson's controversial comments:

A leading Democratic candidate in a closely watched House race brushed off looting and arson that occurred during nationwide unrest during protests about racism and police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd.

“What the hell you got snipers on the roof for in a peaceful march? Even if people loot, so what? Burn it to the ground, you know, if that’s what it’s going to take to fix our nation,” retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson said during a live digital event on Tuesday, shown in a clip obtained by the Washington Examiner.

“I don’t think people want me to say that,” added Olson, a Democratic candidate in Texas’s 24th Congressional District, which covers much of the suburban area in between Fort Worth and Dallas.

Olson, 62, made the comment during a several-minute answer to a question about what she thought about far-left calls to disband or defund police departments.

Olson started by saying that while "defunding" is a "tough word," explaining that she supports prioritizing funding services such as rehab centers and social workers.

“You can't just tackle the police, you've got to tackle some of the social injustice issues that are going on within our justice system,” Olson said. “You can't train racism out of folks.”

She criticized highly militarized police forces, leading into the criticism of snipers on the roof during a recent march in Dallas and then making the comment about looting and riots.

"This quote is being taken out of context," Rachel Perry, Olson's campaign manager, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. "As a combat vet, Colonel Olson knows first hand the human heartbreak of violence. She knows we cannot use force to fix a systemic problem of undue violence and discrimination perpetrated by those who are sworn to protect and serve. We have to rebuild from the ground up a color-blind public safety institution across America."

Texas’s 24th District will be an open seat in the November election since current Republican Rep. Kenny Marchant, who won reelection by about 3 points in 2018, is retiring at the end of his term.

The race is one of several dozen closely watched House seats this election cycle with the potential to flip from Republican to Democratic control. Cook Political Report rates the race as a “Republican toss up.” Politico also calls it a toss-up.

Olson is the front-runner in the primary for the Democratic nomination but must defeat educator and school board trustee Candace Valenzuela in a runoff election on July 14.

Violence and looting should never be condoned by a public official.

These representatives are in office to serve ALL constituents. 

Pitting groups of Americans against each other is not what a leader does.

Yet many Democrats are hijacking George Floyd's death to sow further division in our nation.

Though Kim Olson is in the lead, she is facing a tough election in Texas.

A Democratic group has announced that it will spend at least six-figures on a direct mail campaign targeting Kim Olson.

The Texan News confirms:

The Voter Protection Project, a progressive super PAC focused on expanding access to voting and committed to “ending partisan gerrymandering and voter suppression,” has announced that it will be spending $125,000 in the Democratic runoff for Texas’ 24th Congressional District.

Funds will be used on negative mail advertisements targeted at Kim Olson, a retired Air Force colonel who received 40 percent of the vote in the March 3 primary.

Mailers will be aimed at the most likely Democratic voters.

The Texan spoke with Matt Liebman, president of the Voter Protection Project.

“We’re a national voting rights group formed in 2019 to fight back against Republican attempts at voter suppression [and to elect] Democratic candidates who are strong advocates for voter equality and expanding access to the ballot,” said Liebman, saying that Candace Valenzuela is such a candidate.

The Voter Protection Project has thrown its full support behind Valenzuela, a Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District Board of Trustees member who placed second in the primary with 30 percent of the vote.

“There’s a clear contrast between Candace Valenzuela and what she’s fighting for — for a more transparent and equitable government — as opposed to her opponent, Kim Olson, who doesn’t fight for any of those values or stand for the things that the Democratic Party is fighting for,” said Liebman.

His criticisms of Olson included the allegations of having used her position in the military to “steer three million dollars worth of military contracts to a private security firm that she went on to operate.”

One mailer will also criticize Olson for comments she reportedly made in 2008 while working as an administrator with Dallas ISD amidst financial difficulties for the school district.

The run off election will be held on July 14, 2020.

In the primary, Kim Olson received 41 percent of the vote.

All eyes will be on the Texas election to give politicos and pollsters insight on exactly how competitive Texas may be on a national scale in November.