2006 Texas's 22nd congressional district elections

none February 2026 March 2021 2006 Texas's 22nd congressional district general election Texas presidential no 2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas#District 22 2004 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas#District 22 2008 November 7, 2006 x145px Nick Lampson Democratic Party (United States) 76,775 51.79% x145px Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (write-in) Republican Party (United States) 61,938 41.78% x110px Bob Smither Libertarian Party (United States) 9,009 6.08% 2006 Texas's 22nd congressional district election results map by county.svg County resultsLampson: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% U.S. Representative Tom DeLay Republican Party (United States) Nick Lampson Democratic Party (United States) thumb|2006 ballot for the general election The 2006 Texas 22nd congressional district election for the 110th Congress was held on November 7, 2006, and attracted considerable attention because this district was represented by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a prominent member of the Republican Party, who resigned after being indicted and subsequently winning the Republican primary. Because of Texas state law (and court rulings interpreting it), Republicans, in order to hold on to the seat, would have had to win a write-in campaign, something that has only been done four other times in the history of U.S. congressional elections. There were actually two elections held in the district on November 7: a special election to fill DeLay's vacant seat which expired in January 2007, and a general election which was for a two-year term starting in January 2007. In the special election, there were five candidates—four Republicans—Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, Don Richardson, former US Representative Steve Stockman and Giannibecego Hoa Tran, and one Libertarian, Bob Smither. The Democrats were not represented with a candidate. Sekula-Gibbs won that race with approximately 63 percent of the vote and was sworn in as a Member of Congress on November 13, 2006. In the general election there were three main candidates. Democrat and former US Representative Nick Lampson, Libertarian Party candidate Bob Smither, and Republican Sekula-Gibbs. Only Lampson's and Smither's names appeared on the ballot, as Shelley Sekula-Gibbs had to run as a write-in candidate because DeLay had previously won the Republican primary. In this race, Lampson captured 52% of the vote, to Sekula-Gibbs' 42%, and Smither collected 6%. Background Tom DeLay's ethical problems Tom DeLay campaign finance trial On September 28, 2005, DeLay was indicted on conspiracy charges by a grand jury in Travis County. As a result, he stepped down from his post as House Majority Leader. 2006 primary DeLay won the Republican primary on March 7, 2006, getting 62% of the vote in the four-way race. DeLay outspent his closest opponent, Tom Campbell, by a near 20–1 ratio.Conason Joe Broken Hammer Salon.com March 10, 2006 https://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/03/10/delay/ April 20, 2006 It was his lowest percentage of votes in a primary election and it prompted questions about whether he could win the general election. Resignation and decision not to run for re-election On April 3, 2006, three days after a former aide, Tony Rudy, pleaded guilty to various charges of corruption relating to the Jack Abramoff scandal, DeLay announced that he would withdraw from the race and not run for re-election. He explained that polls showed him beating Democratic opponent Nick Lampson in the general election, but that the possibility of losing the election was too risky.Aulds T. J. Tom DeLay to step down The Galveston County Daily News April 4, 2006 http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=c1d788cf5a967e2f dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060426033531/http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=c1d788cf5a967e2f April 26, 2006 Bash Dana Sources: DeLay to leave House re-election race CNN April 3, 2006 https://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/03/delay.election/index.html April 19, 2006 DeLay announced his resignation effective June 9, 2006.http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/DeLay_notifies_Speaker_of_House_he_0511.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060614194637/http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/DeLay_notifies_Speaker_of_House_he_0511.html dead June 14, 2006 DeLay Notifies Speaker of House He Will Resign Raw Story May 11, 2006 DeLay said that he planned to move to a condominium that he owns in Virginia near Washington, D.C. He stated that he could serve "the conservative cause" best by forming a lobbying firm that would work to support conservative issues. On May 24, 2006, DeLay's final bill, the Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006, passed in the House with unanimous support. In his farewell speech on June 8 to the House, he defended the "pugnacious" political partisanship he'd championed.The Washington Post Michael Grunwald https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060801342.html DeLay Pulls No Punches In Final Speech to House June 9, 2006 Determination of eligibility and withdrawal of name On June 12, 2006, Tom DeLay's voice was featured in a robocall that went to 11,000 homes in Northern Virginia announcing his endorsement for Republican Primary candidate Mark Ellmore. In the robocall, he mistakenly stated he lives in California which was featured in The Hill,http://wonkette.com/politics/gossip-roundup/gossip-roundup-tom-delay-drunk-dials-180735.php ? 2007-07-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083156/http://wonkette.com/politics/gossip-roundup/gossip-roundup-tom-delay-drunk-dials-180735.php 2007-09-29 dead "Recently I reregistered to vote in Northern California. My first action was to cast my vote for Mark Ellmore in tomorrow's Republican Primary." This prompted a challenge with the City of Alexandria Voter's Registrar,offthekuff Off the Kuff Blog https://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/007469.html#007469 stating the vote was illegal since it was speculated that DeLay was still registered in Texas. Placing another Republican on the ballot Texas law stipulates that after a candidate wins a primary, the party may not replace him unless he is ineligible for re-election. DeLay asserted, when he resigned, that he moved to Virginia, rendering him ineligible. The Texas Republican Party chairwoman subsequently declared that DeLay was ineligible for re-election, and set about choosing a replacement candidate. Texas Democrats, however, filed a lawsuit arguing that the Republican Party could not legally name another candidate for the 2006 election because DeLay was still eligible for election.The Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4004711.html Judge says DeLay 'withdrew': Statement may spell trouble for GOP, but 22nd District issue still awaits ruling June 27, 2006 Janet Elliot In July 2006, a district judge ruled that DeLay was indeed still eligible, in part finding that allowing the Texas GOP to find DeLay ineligible based on his current residency would effectively impose an unconstitutional residency requirement.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4028453.html Judge's ruling keeps DeLay on ballot Ratcliffe R. G. July 6, 2006 The Houston Chronicle On August 3, 2006, a 3-member panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the decision and affirmed the District Court's constitutional argument.https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cpub%5C06/06-50812-CV0.wpd.pdf Texas Democratic vs. Benkiser United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit August 3, 2006 August 4, 2006 On August 7, the Texas Republican Party filed an application to Justice Antonin Scalia, who handles the Fifth Circuit, to stay the Court of Appeals ruling. Scalia denied the stay on the same day, ruling that DeLay's name must stay on the ballot pending an appeal. This effectively ended the efforts by the GOP to put a replacement name on ballot, as the Supreme Court could not hear and decide the case before the November election. DeLay announced on August 8, 2006, that he would withdraw in order for the GOP to organize a campaign for a write-in candidate.https://www.theguardian.com/worldlatest/story/0,,-6001553,00.html DeLay Vows to Take Name Off Texas Ballot Guardian Unlimited August 8, 2006 David Espo The result is that no Republican was listed on the ballot for the two-year term that began in January 2007.Texas Secretary of State list of candidates for the November 7, 2006 general election https://web.archive.org/web/20080530025619/http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/candidates/2006gen.pdf May 30, 2008 , accessed September 16, 2006 Candidates in the general election Democrat On January 2, 2006, Lampson filed to challenge DeLay for the 2006 election, as a Democrat. Lampson represented an adjacent district (the Texas 9) until DeLay engineered the 2003 Texas redistricting; Lampson lost his seat to Ted Poe in 2004. The 22nd had absorbed several parts of Lampson's former territory, including much of Galveston. DeLay, who was then the House Majority Leader had only managed a 14-point victory in 2004—far less than what is normally expected for a party leader in Congress. Many experts believed that the 22nd, long considered a rock-ribbed Republican district, had become much more competitive as a result of DeLay's attempts to make the other Houston-area districts more Republican. Most of the Democratic strength can be attributed to the portion of the district in Galveston County, home to large numbers of unionized petrochemical refinery workers. Lampson announced on August 16, 2006, that three major police associations had endorsed him: the National Association of Police Organizations, the International Union of Police Associations, and the Texas State Police Coalition.http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/1686/lampson-picks-up-police-support-expects-multiple-gop-write-ins Lampson Picks Up Police Support - Expects Multiple GOP Write-Ins FortBendNow August 16, 2006 October 26, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20070701132156/http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/1686/lampson-picks-up-police-support-expects-multiple-gop-write-ins July 1, 2007 usurped mdy-all Libertarian On March 25, 2006, Bob Smither won the nomination of the Libertarian Party to run in the 22nd District.http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/918/libertarians-choose-candidates-for-three-offics-of-local-interest Libertarians Choose Candidates For Three Offices Of Local Interest FortBendNow March 30, 2006 August 29, 2006 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20060515151617/http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/918/libertarians-choose-candidates-for-three-offics-of-local-interest May 15, 2006 Republican write-in The Texas GOP, resigned to the fact that they could not get another name on the ballot, decided to go the write-in route, scheduling a meeting of precinct chairs in the 22nd district on August 17. Before that meeting, Sugar Land mayor David Wallace, the presumed favorite before Scalia's denial of the appeal, filed as a write-in candidate with the Texas Secretary of State, vowing to run even without the support of the GOP.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4125370.html Sekula-Gibbs picked as write-in candidate Houston Chronicle Eric Hanson August 19, 2006 August 19, 2006 At the August 17 meeting, the precinct chairs selected Houston councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as the Republican write-in candidate. Wallace initially indicated he would remain in the race, suggesting that the endorsement of Sekula-Gibbs was unrepresentative of the district's "grass roots". But with national Republicans insisting that the only way they would fund the race—they were pledging $3 million—was if the GOP field was limited to one write-in candidate, Wallace withdrew in late August.Juan Lozano http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=4454415 https://archive.today/20130124074448/http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=4454415 dead January 24, 2013 Sugar Land Mayor Ends Write-In Candidacy for DeLay's Seat, Leaving 1 GOP Hopeful] ABC News August 21, 2006 Part of the decision to bypass Wallace may have been based on his decision to run against the incumbent Republican mayor of Sugar Land in 2002, a race that he won.https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5698889 Political Junkie NPR August 23, 2006 Ken Rudin Non-candidates Independent Former US Representative Steve Stockman, who had previously represented the 9th district, attempted to run as an independent, but failed to gather enough signatures to make the ballot.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/3860808.html I declare: independents chron.com May 14, 2006 Fundraising and campaign expenditures At the end of June 2006, Lampson had $2.2 million cash on hand and spent about $744,000. His campaign spokesman said Lampson should have more than $3 million in contributions and the campaign plans to use every bit of it. "It's not in our plans to have any money left over," Mike Malaise said. By contrast, Sekula-Gibbs had about $30,000 in the bank at the end of June, two months after she began raising money. Texas GOP chairwoman Tina Benkiser told a group of the district's precinct chairs that the national Republican party would spend $3 million to $4 million in the race if only one Republican ran as a write-in, said Gretchen Essell, party spokeswoman. While Wallace did drop out, another Republican, Don Richardson, filed as a write-in candidate. Eric Thode, former GOP chairman in Fort Bend County, which includes DeLay's hometown of Sugar Land, doesn't expect much outside money to be spent on the race. "Neither Republicans or Democrats are going to waste — emphasis on waste — three to four million on a nearly impossible write-in bid when you've got 20 or 30 close congressional races where the dynamics are near normal around the nation," he said.Suzanne Gamboa, "Fight for DeLay's seat expected to be costly", Associated Press, September 6, 2006 Outlook and polls During the fall, this election was rated as among the more competitive in the country according to the National Journal. Two non-partisan political reports, the Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball, rated the race as Leans Democratic. On August 16, 2006, the Hotline ranked Texas' 22nd Congressional District House race as 8th, from a previous ranking of 14th, in a list of the top 30 House races in the country.http://nationaljournal.com/racerankings/house/ Northern Plights National Journal Chuck Todd August 16, 2006 August 29, 2006 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080517003803/http://nationaljournal.com/racerankings/house/ May 17, 2008 In late August CQPolitics.com changed their rating of the race from "No Clear Favorite" to Leans Democratic.http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/08/democrats_now_favored_to_take.html Democrats Now Favored to Take Over DeLay's Old Seat Congressional Quarterly August 28, 2006 August 29, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060901234743/http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/08/democrats_now_favored_to_take.html September 1, 2006 dead mdy-all On October 30, 2006, a Zogby poll showed a statistical tie. Sekula-Gibbs received 28 percent, Lampson 36 percent and Smither 4 percent, based upon 500 respondents.http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA103006.01B.22ndDistrictRace.35296db.html "Write-in for DeLay spot has a shot" by Kristen Mack, Houston Chronicle, October 30, 2006 mysanantonio.com dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111550/http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA103006.01B.22ndDistrictRace.35296db.html September 29, 2007 Polling Source Date Lampson (D) Sekula-Gibbs (R) Smither (L)Houston Chronicle/KHOUHouston Chronicle/KHOU October 30, 2006 36% 28% 4% General election results 2006 U.S. House election: Texas district 222006 General Election https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist127_state.htm 2022-06-24 elections.sos.state.tx.us Democratic Party (US) Nick Lampson 76,775 51.79% Republican Party (US) Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (write-in) 61,938 41.78% Libertarian Party (US) Bob Smither 9,009 6.08% Write-in candidate Don Richardson 428 0.29% Write-in candidate Joe Reasbeck 89 0.06% 14,841 8.01% 148,239 Democratic Party (US) Republican Party (US) Special election Background Texas Governor Rick Perry announced on August 29, 2006, that a special election would take place for the unexpired term of DeLay (November–December 2006), coinciding with the general election on November 7, 2006. This meant that voters would vote twice on that date, once for the special election, once for the general election—and it also meant that Sekula-Gibbs' name would be on a ballot for November 7. On August 29, both Sekula-Gibbs and Nick Lampson said they would file for the special election.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4149222.html Perry sets Nov 7 as election day for DeLay's seat The Houston Chronicle Ratcliffe R. G. August 29, 2006 August 29, 2006 On August 31, Lampson decided not to file. "We want to be able to say, vote once for Lampson and then you're done," his campaign manager said. Lampson also said that his not running might eliminate the cost and confusion of a run-off, since no candidate might win the required majority in the special election.http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/1821/lampson-wont-participate-in-special-election-fearing-it-would-increase-voter-confusion To Avoid More Voter Confusion, Lampson Says No To Special Election FortBendNow Dunn Bob August 31, 2006 August 31, 2006 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20061027203424/http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/1821/lampson-wont-participate-in-special-election-fearing-it-would-increase-voter-confusion October 27, 2006 Sekula-Gibbs was asked if the special election would confuse voters. She replied, "People already know it's an unusual race." She also stated that having her name on one ballot would serve as "a memory jog." Blumenthal Ralph Governor Gives Contest to Replace DeLay a New Twist The New York Times August 30, 2006 https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30texas.html?_r=1&oref=slogin August 30, 2006 In addition to Sekula-Gibbs, four others filed for the special election before the September 1 deadline: Republicans Sekula-Gibbs, Don Richardson, former Rep. Steve Stockman, and Giannibecego Hoa Tran along with Libertarian Bob Smither. Results Official results for the November 7 special election2006 Special November Elections https://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist128_state.htm 2022-06-24 elections.sos.state.tx.us Republican Shelley Sekula-Gibbs Republican Party (United States) 76,924 62.07% Bob Smither Libertarian Party (United States) 23,425 18.90% Steve Stockman Republican Party (United States) 13,600 10.97% Don Richardson Republican Party (United States) 7,405 5.98% Giannibicego Hoa Tran Republican Party (United States) 2,568 2.07% 123,922 100% In the special election Sekula-Gibbs won with 62% of the vote, and served the remaining 2 months of DeLays term In the general election for the full two-year term Lampson defeated Sekula-Gibbs 52% to 42%, and was sworn back into Congress on January 3rd 2007. In 2008, Sekula-Gibbs ran for the seat again, running in a crowded Republican primary field. While she received the most votes on primary day, she was defeated by a wide margin by Pete Olson, the former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator John Cornyn and a veteran of the United States Navy. Olson went on to defeat Lampson in the general election. See also Special elections to the United States House of Representatives References Texas 22 2006 22 Texas 2006 22 United States House of Representatives 22 United States House of Representatives 2006 22 Texas 22 Texas 2006 22