David G. Wallace - 2006 Congressional Election

2006 Congressional Election

While Wallace ran unopposed in 2006, a political development was happening at the federal level in Sugar Land. On the night of April 3, 2006, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay decided to retire from Congress instead of facing a difficult re-election bid (for a twelfth term). On June 9, 2006, he officially resigned from Congress. DeLay has been the focus of an indictment issued in Travis County, Texas stemming from his funding of Republican candidates through such groups as TRMPAC, which funded Texas candidates, and ARMPAC, which funded federal candidates.

However, Texas Republicans were unsuccessful in removing DeLay's name from the ballot after Democrats won a court ruling to keep Delay's name on the ballot. As a last resort, DeLay withdrew from the election and left the campaign to a write-in candidate, which opened the doors for Wallace. At that time, Wallace seriously explored the possibility of a write-in campaign.

However, Republican Party precinct chairs ultimately endorsed Wallace's opponent, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, to face Democrat Nick Lampson—a former Congressman from Beaumont who moved to Stafford, north of Sugar Land, with the original intent of challenging DeLay before he dropped out.

Even though Wallace previously indicated that he would continue to run even if Sekula-Gibbs received the party's endorsement, he announced on August 21, 2006, that he would abandon his write-in campaign and endorse Sekula-Gibbs, who won the remainder of Tom DeLay's unexpired term in a special election. Nick Lampson would go on to win the general election despite a strong showing by Sekula-Gibbs and a visit by President George W. Bush and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison just days before the election.

Wallace also announced that he would not run for re-election as mayor of Sugar Land. However, he did not rule out a run for the 22nd Congressional District seat in 2008, which is expected to be a competitive race as the district is heavily Republican; in 2004, George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in this district by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Additionally, Bush carried Fort Bend County, where Sugar Land is situated, by a double-digit margin.