WASHINGTON – Former Senate aide Pete Olson bested Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson at collecting campaign money in the last three months for their November race.

Olson's campaign says the contributions show the conservative district is tired of being represented by a Democrat. But Lampson's camp on Friday dismissed Olson's showing as unimpressive.

Meanwhile in the vast District 23 race, Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, outdid his GOP rival, Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson, in a district whose voters are about evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

Olson topped Lampson, D-Stafford, with $356,418 in individual and political committee contributions collected April 1 and June 30. But Olson's campaign is about $196,000 in debt.

Lampson raised $285,651 those three months for the District 22 contest, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission late Tuesday.

Lampson has more money in the bank. He reported about $1 million cash on hand, while Olson reported about $261,000.

President Bush is headlining a fund-raiser for Olson in Houston on Friday.

Rodriguez collected more than $333,100 and had nearly $1.2 million in cash on hand at the end of the three months that ended June 30. Larson reported collecting more than $262,600 but had just $279,500 in cash on hand.

The contests are considered Texas' top competitive congressional races this year.

The Lampson-Olson race in Houston-area District 22 is the Republicans' best hope of gaining a House seat in the November general election.

Lampson helped Democrats seal their majority in 2006 by defeating a write-in candidate for the seat that once belonged to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Since his win, Lampson has had to try to win over the district's conservatives. Democrats acknowledge holding the district will be tough, but aren't conceding.

Campaign spokesman Anthony Gutierrez said Olson should have raised more money than he did, considering Vice President Dick Cheney made a fundraiser appearance. Also, Olson's recent runoff win should have yielded more, he said. "I don't think he did as well as he could have," Gutierrez said.

Houston billionaire Dan Duncan held the June 6 fundraiser for Olson featuring Cheney.

Spokeswoman Amy Goldstein refused to say how much money was raised from the Cheney event or how much has been raised so far for the Bush event, citing campaign policy.

Rodriguez unseated the District 23 Republican incumbent in 2006 after the Supreme Court ordered the district redrawn because DeLay's redistricting had violated Hispanics' voting rights.

Josh Rosenblum, a Rodriguez spokesman, said the campaign was pleased with the second-quarter results.

"The fundraising for Larson has been surprisingly weak," he said.

Larson said he isn't worried about the disparity with Rodriguez. His smaller donations of $25 and $50 will translate into votes in November, he said.

"He'll (Rodriguez) have a lot of dollars but it doesn't mean he has the support in the district," Larson said Wednesday. "Basically we've got folks coming out of the woodwork for us."

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Associated Press Writer Elizabeth White in San Antonio contributed to this report.

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On the Net: Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov

AP-WS-07-16-08 1707EDT