Texas's 23rd congressional district

Texas's 23rd congressional district
Texas's 23rd congressional district
	Texas's 23rd congressional district since January 3, 2023
Representative	Tony Gonzales; R–San Antonio
Distribution	78.09% urban; 21.91% rural;
Population (2023)	786,734
Median household; income	$74,285
Ethnicity	62.9% Hispanic; 28.4% White; 3.3% Black; 2.4% Asian; 2.1% Two or more races; 0.8% other;
Cook PVI	R+5

Texas's 23rd congressional district stretches across the southwestern portion of Texas. It is a majority Hispanic district and has been represented by Republican Tony Gonzales since 2021.

The 23rd district runs along the majority of Texas' border with Mexico, north of the Rio Grande. It stretches from western San Antonio to El Paso, encompassing numerous county seats and towns of regional economic importance.

The district is predominantly rural. Campaigning is difficult due to its size and disparate influences; the population density is one of the lowest in any congressional district. Economic activities include farming, ranching, oil, and mineral extraction; also recreation, manufacturing, and tourism, as it encompasses all of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.

The 2010s iteration of this district was the only one in the U.S. to vote for the Republican candidate for President in 2012, flip to the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, and then flip back to the Republican candidate in 2020.^[4]

Election results from recent statewide races

Results under current lines (since 2023)^[5]

Year	Office	Result
2014	Senate	Cornyn 65 - 35%
2014	Governor	Abbott 61 - 39%
2016	President	Trump 50 - 46%
2018	Senate	Cruz 51 - 49%
	Governor	Abbott 56 - 42%
	Lieutenant Governor	Patrick 52 - 46%
	Attorney General	Paxton 50 - 47%
2020	President	Trump 53 - 46%
2020	Senate	Cornyn 54 - 43%
2022	Governor	Abbott 54 - 44%
	Lieutenant Governor	Patrick 54 - 43%
	Attorney General	Paxton 53 - 44% ^[6]

Demographics

According to the APM Research Lab's Voter Profile Tools (featuring the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey), the district contained about 511,000 potential voters (citizens, age 18+). Of these, 64% are Latino, while 29% are White. One in ten potential voters were born outside of the U.S., now naturalized citizens. Median income among households (with one or more potential voter) in the district is about $61,800, while 11% of households live below the poverty line. As for the educational attainment of potential voters in the district, 17% of those 25 and older have not earned a high school degree, while 23% hold a bachelor's or higher degree.

Election results

Elections from 1967 to 1992

This district was created in 1967, following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In addition, it followed the case of Wesberry v. Sanders, resulting in Texas's previous congressional map being tossed out. Democrats held the district until 1993.

Elections from 1992 to 2002

Following the 1990 census, in 1992, the Texas Legislature created the new 28th district, mostly from the eastern portion of the 23rd. In the process, the legislature left a heavily Republican section of western San Antonio in the 23rd. Republican Henry Bonilla beat 4-term incumbent Albert Bustamante to take the seat in 1992.

Although the 23rd leaned slightly Democratic on paper, Bonilla had a very conservative voting record. Largely because of his popularity in San Antonio, he did not face a credible challenger until 2002, when the former Democratic Texas Secretary of State, Henry Cuellar, came within 2 points of unseating him.

2004 election

During the 2003 Texas redistricting, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature shifted most of Laredo, which had been one of the bases of the 23rd from the beginning, into the 28th district. Several heavily Republican suburbs in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio were shifted into the 23rd district, all but ensuring Bonilla of a seventh term.

2004 Texas's 23rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Henry Bonilla (incumbent)	170,716	69.3	+17.7
	Democratic	Joe Sullivan	72,480	29.4	−17.8
	Libertarian	Nazirite Perez	3,307	1.3	+0.6
Majority			98,236	39.9
Turnout			246,503
	Republican hold		Swing	+17.8

2006 election

Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry which found that the 23rd district violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the district was redrawn.

2006 Texas's 23rd congressional district runoff election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ciro Rodriguez	38,247	54.32%	+25.1
	Republican	Henry Bonilla (Incumbent)	32,165	45.68%	−23.9
Majority			6,082	8.64%
Turnout			68,294
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing	24.5

2010 election

The National Republican Congressional Committee targeted Texas's 23rd congressional district to try to regain it, and strongly supported the Republican campaign financially.^[7]

2010 23rd Congressional District of Texas Elections^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Quico Canseco	74,671	49.38
	Democratic	Ciro Rodriguez (incumbent)	67,212	44.44
Majority
Turnout			141,883
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

2012 election

2012 Texas's 23rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Gallego	96,477	50.33
	Republican	Quico Canseco (incumbent)	87,255	45.52
	Libertarian	Jeffrey C. Blunt	5,827	3.04
	Green	Ed Scharf	2,099	1.09
Total votes			191,658	100

2014 election

2014 Texas's 23rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Hurd	57,459	49.8
	Democratic	Pete Gallego (incumbent)	55,037	47.7
	Libertarian	Ruben Corvalan	2,933	2.5
Total votes			115,429	100

2016 election

2016 Texas's 23rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Hurd (incumbent)	110,577	48.3
	Democratic	Pete Gallego	107,526	47.0
	Libertarian	Ruben Corvalan	10,862	4.7
Total votes			228,965	100

2018 election

Texas's 23rd congressional district, 2018^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Will Hurd (incumbent)	103,285	49.2
	Democratic	Gina Ortiz Jones	102,359	48.7
	Libertarian	Ruben Corvalan	4,425	2.1
Total votes			210,069	100.0
	Republican hold

2020 election

2020 Texas's 23rd congressional district election^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tony Gonzales	149,395	50.6
	Democratic	Gina Ortiz Jones	137,693	46.6
	Libertarian	Beto Villela	8,369	2.8
Total votes			295,457	100
	Republican hold

2022 election

2022 Texas's 23rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tony Gonzales (incumbent)	116,649	55.8
	Democratic	John Lira	80,947	38.7
	Independent	Frank Lopez Jr.	11,180	5.3
Total votes			208,776	100
	Republican hold

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District established January 3, 1967
Abraham Kazen Jr. (Laredo)	Democratic	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1985	90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th	Elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Lost renomination.	1967–1969 [data missing]
					1969–1973 [data missing]
					1973–1975 [data missing]
					1975–1983 [data missing]
					1983–1985 [data missing]
Albert Bustamante (San Antonio)	Democratic	January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993	99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Lost re-election.	1985–1993 [data missing]
Henry Bonilla (San Antonio)	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2007	103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th	Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Lost re-election.	1993–2003 Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Webb, Winkler, and Zavala; parts of Bexar, Ector, El Paso, and Midland
					2003–2005 Brewster, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, and Zavala; parts of Bexar and El Paso
					2005–2007 Bandera, Brewster, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala; parts of Bexar, El Paso, Sutton, and Webb
Ciro Rodriguez (San Antonio)	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011	110th 111th	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Lost re-election.	2007–2013 Brewster, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala; parts of Bexar, El Paso, and Sutton
Quico Canseco (San Antonio)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013	112th	Elected in 2010. Lost re-election.
Pete Gallego (Alpine)	Democratic	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015	113th	Elected in 2012. Lost re-election.	2013–2023 Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler, and Zavala; parts of Bexar, El Paso, and La Salle^[11]
Will Hurd (San Antonio)	Republican	January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2021	114th 115th 116th	Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Retired.
Tony Gonzales (San Antonio)	Republican	January 3, 2021 – present	117th 118th	Elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.
Tony Gonzales (San Antonio)	Republican	January 3, 2021 – present	117th 118th	Elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2023–present Bexar (part), Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, El Paso (part), Frio, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, La Salle, Loving, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Schleicher, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Winkler, and Zavala^[12]