2006Final resultsSpecial election
2006 special election for Texas's 21st District
U.S. House · Texas
Lamar Smith (R) won with 60.1% of the vote, defeating John Courage (D) by 35.6 points.
Lamar SmithRepublican · winner
60.1%122,486
John CourageDemocrat
24.5%49,957
Gene KellyDemocrat
9.0%18,355
Tommy CalvertIndependent
2.6%5,280
James Arthur StrohmLibertarian
2.0%4,076
James Lyle PetersonIndependent
1.1%2,189
Mark J. RossanoIndependent
0.7%1,439
203,782 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2006
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
John CourageLamar Smith
$368.1K
Raised by the campaign
$1.5M
$352.2K
Spent by the campaign
$1.7M
$15.9K
Cash on hand
$617.3K
Other candidates' campaigns: Tommy Calvert $28.7K · James Arthur Strohm $9.4K.
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 2006.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 2006
The candidates
Lamar Smith (R)John Courage (D)Gene Kelly (D)
Also on the ballot: Tommy Calvert (Independent), 2.6%; James Arthur Strohm (Libertarian), 2.0%; James Lyle Peterson (Independent), 1.1%; Mark J. Rossano (Independent), 0.7%