Posted on 05/07/2006 10:14:42 AM PDT by anymouse
7 people vying to succeed DeLay answer questions in closed sessions
Republican leaders from Harris County met in Pasadena Saturday to interview potential candidates for the 22nd District congressional seat that will be vacated by outgoing Rep. Tom DeLay sometime in May or June.
The day drew seven hopefuls, who filled out a questionnaire detailing their political history and philosophies, including Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, state Rep. Robert Talton of Pasadena, lawyer Tom Campbell, who came in second to DeLay in the March primary, state Rep. Charlie Howard of Sugar Land, state Sen. Mike Jackson of La Porte, businessman Timothy Turner and Precinct 3 Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers.
In closed-door sessions, potential nominees handed out copies of their questionnaires and gave presentations to the roughly 50 precinct chairs. The replacement nominee for the November ballot will be selected by a four-member committee of precinct chairs — one each from Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties.
The questionnaires were not made public.
"We are getting all the decision-makers together in one room," said Kathy Haigler, a precinct chair from Deer Park.
During the sessions, the candidates were asked, among other things, about immigration and homeland security, two high-priority issues among GOP voters, Haigler said.
Also, candidates were asked if they thought they possessed "electability."
"Definitely, that is a factor," Haigler said. "We need somebody who's strong with the issues but who also has no baggage," she said referring to the difficulties that persuaded DeLay to step aside, making the seat vulnerable to Democrat nominee and former representative Nick Lampson, who has amassed a $1.7 million war chest.
"Nick Lampson is a whole lot of talk and not a lot of action, said Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill. He has spent his entire campaign running against (DeLay) and not for any issue."
The leaders at the meeting did not say whether any candidate had broken out of the pack on Saturday, but several expressed disappointment that Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, who many considered a leading candidate, did not fill out the questionnaire and failed to show.
ping
Candidates must be interviewed by the party apparatus? So this is how Republican candidates will be chosen from now on, not by the voters in a primary?
Ping
Too late for another primary. The Republican Party did send out an unofficial postcard mailout/mailback ballot to Republicans that voted in the primary. That was the best they could do. Not my kind of election, but at least it was an attempt at it. Ronnie Earl isn't my kind of prosecutor either! I hope that Tom DeLay sues the pants off of RE when DeLay is exonerated. I hope that the state prosecutes RE and RE spends time in prison. This isn't his first time at screwing the Republican Party.
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