 House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who had represented Sekula-Gibbs's area of residence since it was redistricted into DeLay's district (see 2003 Texas redistricting) and was under indictment for conspiracy charges, decided to retire from Congress instead of face a tough re-election campaign in the following November.After DeLay's announcement, Sekula-Gibbs expressed interest in the position, but waited for DeLay to complete the official withdrawal procedure before filing her papers.On August 17, 2006, Sekula-Gibbs was selected as the endorsed Republican write-in candidate for District 22.