 Following Nick Lampson's 2006 victory, Hrbacek was strongly encouraged to run against Lampson, given the latter's vulnerability in a heavily Republican district due to its strongly conservative nature.In fact, it was the most conservative district in the country that fell to a Democrat, having given George W. Bush a 2-to-1 margin of victory over Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004.On October 4, 2007, Hrbacek formally announced his candidacy for Congress.