 Uresti was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2006 representing Senate District 19, after challenging 13-year incumbent Frank Madla in a contentious and sometimes heated primary election.Democratic activists were critical of Senator Madla for being too closely tied to the Republican leadership in the Senate and unwilling to utilize senatorial power to prevent the passage of Republican bills.Specifically, Uresti scrutinized Madla's role in a 2003 vote to remove 180,000 youngsters from the Children's Health Insurance Program.