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.
It's also funny how the Republicans are trying so hard to force DeLay *off* the ballot.
Delay has resigned and moved to Virginia. He has no intention to serve. You might as well have a dead man on the ballot. No way the Fifth Circuit is going to permit that.
Delay should run. Absolutely, positively.
I say if the Dems want Delay on the ballot, there MUST be a ALL OUT EFFORT on the part of every Republican in the country to help him get re-elected. WE SURE WILL HELP!!!!They will be SO SORRY they dared us!!!!
If DeLay were dead, the Republicans could replace him. My understanding is that DeLay is not in favor of that option.
I hope DeLay runs and whips the Socialist's sorry butt!
Not only should he run, but the GOP should give him the speakers role back, just to jab a sharp stick in the eyes of the rats and make their heads explode.
HUH????
that's interesting. can he then be replaced if he does withdraq ? why wont he withdraw ?
If Delay could have won, he never would have resigned from the seat in the first place. Regardless of what he told the press about "not hurting other Republicans." He polled and found out he wouldn't win reelection, and it's even less likely now.
If the 5th Circuit turns down the appeal, he could try to run on behalf of another candidate, and promise to resign immediately if elected. Consider it a form of the Mel Carnahan gambit. However, if I were Delay and won under such circumstances, I would find it very hard to walk away from a seat in Congress. And I expect Lampson to make that point.
Delay said on Hannity's radio show he is now a citizen of Virginia and can show proof. He said he voted in a recent GOP primary there so how can he legally be kept on the ballot in Texas if he's not a resident?
I'm guessing that DeLay will win, not only because he is very popular in his district, but also because the voters aren't going the be pleased with the way the ballot was handled.
Delay is not very popular in his district. He's not even popular. If he wins, it's only because the only thing less popular than Delay is "any Democrat" and people will do the right thing to keep Lampson out of office.
No Sh&T. I was thinking the same thing. And, Corzine!
IMHO Delay should never have run in the primary and pulled this stunt to move to Virginia and vote after he was elected in the primary without checking out everything. He has left the district to the whims of the Courts which is a crapshoot.
Because, to be blunt, that's an obvious end-run around Texas law that could lead to all sorts of candidates setting up residency in Oklahoma or Louisiana any time they wanted on or off a ballot after a primary. Texas law was clearly intended to keep anyone from pulling a Lautenberg-type stunt and this judge is a law-and-order type who seems to have taken strong offense at someone transparently mocking the law with this clever approach.
No one believes that Delay established a residence in Virginia for any reason but to get himself booted from the ballot.
If Delay hadn't made this all about himself, but about the greater good of the party, he would have withdrawn before the primary.
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