When I first ran for Congress in the early 1990s, I was cautioned that some of the leaders in Austin did not want any Republican in the Valley to try for regional office because that would bring out additional South Texas Democrat voters and would hurt the chances of our statewide candidates. As a result no one had run for years. When I tossed my hat in the ring, however, and got between 41 and 43% of the votes in my four runs, attitudes changed and people began contesting the races. Up until this year, however, nobody had won. Then ...