Henry Bonilla - Congressional Career

Congressional Career

In March 1992, Bonilla won the 23rd district's Republican nomination for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (map). The 23rd had been a Democratic district since its creation in 1967, but Bonilla charged four-term incumbent Albert G. Bustamante with neglecting his constituents' needs, being involved in the House banking scandal by writing 30 "cheques calientes" in the House Bank, and taking excessive junkets abroad. Bonilla got an inadvertent assist from the state legislature, which left a heavily Republican area of western San Antonio in the 23rd while carving the new 28th District out of much of the 23rd's territory. Despite being outspent by $758,453 to $594,032 and being in a district that Bill Clinton carried the same year, Bonilla won by a huge 21-point margin, 59 to 38 percent, the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent that year. Bonilla did not win in heavily Democratic Webb County in 1992 or in any election thereafter though the small contingent of Republicans there, led by former Laredo City Council member Joe A. Guerra, worked hard for his candidacy.

In March 1999, Governor George W. Bush named Bonilla as the only Texan on his presidential exploratory committee. Bonilla often represented Bush on national news programs and as a surrogate speaker.

Even though the 23rd had a slight Democratic lean, Bonilla developed a very conservative voting record. Largely because of his popularity in San Antonio, he did not face a credible challenge until 2002, when Democrat Henry Cuellar, a former Texas secretary of state, came within two points of unseating him.

Bonilla announced that he would probably run in 2006 for the United States Senate seat held by fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison if she ran for governor in 2006 against the incumbent Republican Rick Perry. However, Hutchison decided to run for another term in the Senate.