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Former President Bill Clinton will stop in San Antonio today to rally supporters of U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and raise money for the embattled Democrat. Clinton will speak at a public event at the Palo Alto Performing Arts Center in the evening, said Rodriguez spokeswoman Rebeca Chapa. Afterward, he'll meet privately with campaign contributors elsewhere on the premises. This will be Clinton's second San Antonio appearance on behalf of Rodriguez. He spoke at a rally for him at Palo Alto in 2006. But though the main attraction is the same, Rodriguez's position has flipped. So has his party's. When the...

Internal Poll Finds Canseco Leading Rodriguez In Texas By Tricia Miller | August 23, 2010 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) A new poll taken for his campaign shows Republican businessman Quico Canseco holding his own against Rep. Ciro Rodriguez in west Texas' 23rd district. The OnMessage poll of 400 likely voters showed Canseco with 43 percent to Rodriguez' 37 percent. Conducted Aug. 15-16, the poll had a margin of error of 4.9 points. For Canseco's campaign it was an improvement over the results of a similar OnMessage poll from mid-May when the two candidates were both within the...

WASHINGTON — A San Antonio congressman apologized Tuesday for his outburst at a woman attending a San Antonio town hall meeting last week that was videotaped and later broadcast on conservative websites. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, blamed the incident on the campaign tactics of his Republican challenger, Francisco “Quico” Canseco, but apologized for “losing my temper.” In a written statement, Rodriguez said the Canseco campaign attempted to “hijack a ‘Congress on Your Corner' event merely to engage in uncivil, cynical videotape baiting tactics.” “The people of Southwest Texas deserve better than that,” Rodriguez said. Canseco, in a statement, said...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Republicans are still hot over the loss of two congressional districts to Democrats in 2006 — especially the one that had been held by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — and they're looking to win them back this fall. But first, they must choose their challengers in the March 4 primary. Both seats drew multiple GOP candidates eager to take on incumbent Democratic Reps. Nick Lampson in the 22nd District and Ciro Rodriguez in the 23rd District. National Republicans have set their sights on finding someone who might evict Lampson and Rodriguez in November. "These are...

Didn't find a live thread for the texas election results. As of 9:07 EST, the race is as follows (mostly "early" election numbers): ----------------------------------------------- RACE NAME PARTY EARLY VOTES PERCENT TOTAL VOTES PERCENT U. S. Representative District 23 Henry Bonilla - Incumbent REP 14,013 47.81% 16,675 44.86% Ciro D. Rodriguez DEM 15,298 52.19% 20,495 55.14% --------------- --------------- Total Votes Cast 29,311 37,170 Precincts Reported 98 of 267 Precincts 36.70% --------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON — Congressional candidates Henry Bonilla and Ciro Rodriguez are engaged in a ground war in a special election that will decide the last of four House races and determine the final makeup of the new Congress. The race is being watched closely by national political leaders who have had a vested interest in the outcome of contests in Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and Florida, the latter two under recount and legal challenge. With a Louisiana runoff between two Democrats held Saturday, the Texas election Tuesday pitting incumbent Republican Rep. Bonilla against challenger Rodriguez could expand the Democrats' majority from 29...

In a hot, crowded gymnasium Sunday, former President Clinton sought to wind up supporters of Democrat Ciro Rodriguez enough to unseat Rep. Henry Bonilla and strengthen the Democratic Party's hold on Congress. Rodriguez's campaign stop at Palo Alto College came less than two days before the runoff in Congressional District 23 between the former congressman and the Republican incumbent. "You couldn't have a clearer choice. You couldn't have a better candidate," Clinton told a throng of cheering supporters. "And you've got just about 48 hours to bring it home." Democrats picked up 29 congressional seats this year, Clinton noted, but...

Former President Clinton told hundreds of screaming Ciro Rodriguez supporters on Sunday that they have to want a victory in Tuesday's runoff election more than those who want an eighth term for Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla. "The winner Tuesday will be the person whose supporters want it the most," Clinton said during a brief visit to Palo Alto College in San Antonio. Rodriguez's campaign hoped Clinton's visit would energize voters to head to the polls Tuesday. Rodriguez faces the incumbent Bonilla in a runoff because neither man got more than 50 percent of the vote in a crowded Nov. 7...

Former President Bill Clinton will stump Sunday in San Antonio for Democrat Ciro Rodriguez, ratcheting up the profile of his runoff challenge to U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla in Congressional District 23. “The president expressed an interest in coming out to support Ciro and to energize Democratic voters,” said Vanessa Gonzalez, Rodriguez's spokeswoman. Though campaign officials were still nailing down details of Clinton's visit late Friday, Gonzalez said he would speak at a get-out-the-vote rally at the Palo Alto College in Rodriguez's South Side stronghold. Clinton, who made a campaign swing through San Antonio in 1996, is still hailed by many...

WASHINGTON -- The congressional runoff election Tuesday between two Hispanics with vastly different outlooks is being seen by Latino groups as a potential of the Hispanic vote in the country and of an example of coming battles to protect minority voting strength. Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla faces Democratic former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez in the second round of balloting for the newly redrawn 23rd Congressional District, which spans from San Antonio nearly to El Paso and along the Texas-Mexico border. Neither man received 50 percent of the vote in an eight-way race on Nov. 7. The district was redrawn this summer...

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday approved next Tuesday for the runoff election in District 23, putting controversy surrounding the date to rest. After Gov. Rick Perry scheduled the runoff, the League of United Latin American Citizens sued, attempting to move the election to Dec. 19. The group argued that fewer Hispanics would turn out to vote because next Tuesday is a religious holiday for Mexican Catholics. But two compromises added three days of early voting, which now ends Saturday, in the contest between Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla and Democrat Ciro Rodriguez. That prompted LULAC to drop its suit —...

The runoff election for the Congressional District 23 seat was expected to bring out only hardcore voters, but early numbers show the race is an important one to many San Antonio residents. There's no real way to compare the turnout to previous races, because at least as far back as anyone remembers, Bexar County never had to have a runoff election after the general election. Over the weekend, more than 3,200 people showed up to vote on the first two days of early voting. Also, over 4,000 ballots have been mailed to the Bexar County Elections office. So far this...

Bexar County's elections chief said late Thursday that early voting for the runoff in Congressional District 23 is back on for Saturday — a move flouting the Texas secretary of state. Bexar County commissioners earlier this week voted unanimously to start early voting Saturday, adding two days to the voting schedule set by Gov. Rick Perry. Their vote came in response to petitions filed by Democrat Ciro Rodriguez's campaign and the League of United Latin American Citizens. However, the secretary of state's office challenged the county's authority to add days, prompting Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen to withdraw her...

Two weeks after voters sent U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla and former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez into a runoff, it finally got put on the calendar. Voters go to the polls Dec. 12. Early voting starts Dec. 4. But soon after word got out late Tuesday, Rodriguez objected to the short period between the announcement and election day, saying in a written statement that Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams had done "a disservice." "This is yet another coordinated Republican scheme to manipulate the electoral process in order to limit voter participation," the San Antonio Democrat said. The...

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today canvassed the results of the election for Congressional District 23 and set the special runoff election date for Tuesday, Dec. 12. Early voting will begin Dec. 4. The Texas Election Code requires that a special election be called because no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in the Nov. 7 general election. The special election will be between U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, who received 48.6 percent of the votes, and Ciro D. Rodriguez, who received 19.87 percent of the votes cast. Dec. 12 is the earliest the special election can be called...