Henry Bonilla - Defeat in 2006

Defeat in 2006

On November 7, Bonilla faced six Democrats, including Ciro Rodriguez and Vietnam War veteran Rick Bolanos in the all-candidate special election required by the court decision on redistricting (see above). The ballot also included one independent. Bolanos had won the Democratic primary earlier in the year.

In the first special election, Bonilla won 48.1 percent of the vote to Rodriguez' 20.3 percent. Since no one gained a majority, there was a runoff between the two former colleagues. According to unofficial results of the Texas Secretary of State, Rodriguez won the runoff with 54.32% of the vote to Bonilla's 45.68%. Bonilla was the first Republican incumbent in Texas to be unseated by a Democrat in 10 years, since Nick Lampson's defeat of Steve Stockman in a 1996 runoff election. Interestingly, Lampson was also returned to Congress in 2006 after being defeated for reelection in 2004, like Rodriguez in another district.

Bonilla said in interviews the night of his defeat that his loss was in part a result of the changed districting. He ran controversial commercials that claimed that Rodriguez took funds from terrorists, which media outlets called "bold claims". He later apologized to the press for any of those who took offense, but stood by his statement.

However, a large number of Hispanics and Latinos, who predominantly reside in District 23, had expressed disdain for Bonilla by stating that he had fallen out of touch with the needs and concerns of minorities. His reputation even earned him the nickname "Henry Vanilla," as some Hispanics claimed that Bonilla no longer could relate to his culture. In a year of war, illegal immigration issues, and a proposed border fence, Latinos left the Republicans side in droves.

Bonilla's seat was the 31st gained by Democrats, the 30th taken from the Republicans, in 2006.