Posted on 07/06/2006 9:28:20 AM PDT by AntiGuv
AUSTIN — A federal judge ruled today that Republicans cannot replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the ballot for the 22nd Congressional District race.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, a Republican appointee, ruled that DeLay must appear on the Nov. 7 ballot as the GOP nominee for the congressional seat that DeLay abandoned last month. Sparks ruling was confirmed by Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Amber Moon.
Details of Sparks ruling were not immediately available.
Sparks ruling halts the process of replacing DeLay on the ballot, but the GOP is expected to appeal the decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
If the Republicans lose on appeal, DeLay will have to decide whether to campaign for an office from which he already has resigned.
When he announced his resignation, DeLay said he believed he could win re-election but thought he would be a drag on other Republican candidates for office because Democrats would use him as a lightening rod to raise money and attack the GOP in general. So he resigned and dropped his re-election bid.
Precinct chairs in the four counties of the 22nd District already have started the process of selecting a new nominee.
Republicans who have been vying for the seat are Sugar Land lawyer Tom Campbell; state Reps. Charlie Howard or Sugar Land and Robert Talton of Pasadena; state Sen. Mike Jackson of Houston; Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs; Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers; Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace; retired Air Force Maj. Don Richardson; and former state GOP executive committee member Tim Turner.
The Democratic nominee is former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson of Houston. The Libertarian Party is represented by Bob Smither of Friendswood.
DeLay already had won the Republican nomination for re-election to his district when he resigned from the U.S. House on June 9. Texas Republican Chair Tina Benkiser declared DeLay ineligible because he had become a resident of Virginia, and she started the process of replacing DeLay on the ballot.
The Texas Democratic Party sued, claiming Benkiser had no authority to declare DeLay ineligible.
The Democrats said DeLay's eligibility is determined by the U.S. Constitution as to which state DeLay is an inhabitant of on election day, Nov. 7. They said DeLay also could not withdraw from the race because state law does not allow a party's nominee to withdraw when another political party also has a nominee.
Republicans argued that Benkiser could declare DeLay ineligible because the Constitution allows the states to control the manner and means of the election. They said that by changing his official residence to Virginia, DeLay had made himself ineligible for the Texas office, even though he still maintained a home in Sugar Land.
DeLay last year had to give up his position as House majority leader after being indicted in Austin on campaign-finance related charges. DeLay said that investigation was politically motivated by Democratic District Attorney Ronnie Earle.
DeLay became a focus of national news reports in the wake of the Jack Abramoff influence peddling scandal. DeLay has maintained his innocence, but two of his former aides have pleaded guilty to federal charges.
How in the heck can a judges ruling be 'confirmed' by an opponent??? The Houston Chronicle is a silly lib-rag.
Can DeLay win? :-)
Ping!!
But Democrats are allowed to remove a NJ Democrat Senate canidate from the ballot 7 days prior to the state wide election.
I was wondering the same thing.I guess it'[s because democRATS are the Keepers of Everything True,Honest and Moral.
Far Out.
It would be so funny if DeLay won.
And Lautenburg became Senator because the Democrats did what?
Of course, that's in the past, we're talking about now.....
I wonder if the writer would have mentioned it if the judge were a Democrat appointee. He seems to think adding that Sparks is a Republican appointee adds weight to his story.
(The Palestinian terrorist regime is the crisis and Israel's fist is the answer.)
It'll probably end up at Texas SC, and he'll be removed from the ballot. Don't ya know a dimwit can't win honestly. So we always end up in court.
Stop that. Now I need a new keyboard.
I'll send him $100 if he says "........the courts won't let me quit. I am going to run and I am going to win!"
DeLay can get off the ballot if he wants by withdrawing. He won't do that.
This is a federal court case, so if there's a supreme ruling it'll be from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thanks. I've made my decision on how I'm voting, heehee.
I GUARANTEE you that the Fifth Circuit will overturn this ruling.
There is no way they're going to allow a MAJORITY republican district to be disenfranchised by not having a Republican on the ballot!
Sparks can't see the forest for the trees.
Did you not even read the headline? DeLay is on the ballot.
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