GOP Field In Congressional District 23 Could Be Sizeable

By Vince Leibowitz on Jul 4, 2007 in 2008 Texas Elections

It appears as though yet another Republican is taking a look at challenging Ciro Rodriguez in CD 23, although it’s likely to be a waste of GOP dollars, effort, and time:

Republican Lyle Larson remains coy about whether he’ll seek his party’s nomination in Congressional District 23. But he’s clear about this: He won’t run for another term as county commissioner in 2008.

“I’ll announce my intention to not seek re-election to the office sometime in the next 45 days or so,” Larson said Tuesday.

His decision not to campaign for a fourth term on the Commissioners Court, where he’s the lone Republican and represents Precinct 3, is the strongest sign yet that he’ll run in District 23’s GOP primary next March.

“I know he’s giving serious consideration to that race,” County Judge Nelson Wolff said, “and I know that he felt that it was time for a change.”

Richard Langlois, chairman of the Bexar County Republican Party, believes that Larson will decide to mount a campaign in District 23, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso. “Yeah, there’s a chance that he won’t run. But it’s not a big chance.”

Francisco “Quico” Canseco, a San Antonio attorney, is already chasing the Republican nomination for the congressional seat, which Democrat Ciro Rodriguez wrested from 14-year incumbent Henry Bonilla in a special election in December.

Rodriguez’s younger brother, Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez, serves with Larson on the Commissioners Court.

Larson’s coyness could stem from the Texas Constitution, which would require him to surrender his county office as soon as he becomes a District 23 candidate if he had more than one year remaining in his term.