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December 12, 2006
Finishing The Cycle Strong
A very strong 2006 election cycle for Democrats is finishing on a high tonight, as former Democratic Congressman Ciro Rodriguez of San Antonio will return to Washington after beating GOP incumbent Henry Bonilla decisively in today's special election for the 23rd District of Texas.
Readers will recall that the 23rd was the principal violator, in the U.S. Supreme Court's eyes, of the Voting Rights Act by Tom DeLay's mid-decade Texas redistricting plan. While the Supremes largely preserved DeLay's Lone Star gerrymander, they cried foul on the 23rd and threw out the lines. The newly drawn seat reconstituted Latino voting strength in the district and made it very competitive for a Democrat.
Still, few gave Ciro much chance of winning (Note: Mr. Burka, are you going to keep swallowing the inside-Austin GOP spin or broaden your source pool a bit?), but win he did.
This victory is a tasty bit of icing on a pretty sweet national election cycle for Democrats, and marks another solid step forward taken by Texas Ds. Boy, has it been a while since that phrase was applicable.
Congratulations to Congressman Rodriguez. Oh, and Merry Christmas Mr. DeLay.
Posted by houtopia at December 12, 2006 08:45 PM