» December 13, 2006 | Rep. Henry Bonilla (R) won 49% of the vote on Nov. 7, just short of the 50% of the vote he needed to claim the seat outright. Unlike every other congressional race in Texas in 2006, Bonilla and his challengers were operating under special rules. Portions of the state's 2003 congressional map, including the legislature's decision to remove 100,000 Hispanic voters from the 23rd District, were ruled in violation of the Voting Rights Act by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2006. The resulting changes in the district's boundaries reinstituted a strong Hispanic presence in the 23rd. A runoff election held on Dec. 12 saw Bonilla fall to former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez.