Posted on 08/08/2006 11:57:22 AM PDT by SolidSupplySide
WASHINGTON — Dogged by scandal, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay intends to withdraw as a candidate for Congress, a Republican strategist said today, a step that would allow the party to field a write-in candidate in hopes of holding his seat.
The development came one day after Texas Republicans lost a court battle in their bid to name a replacement candidate for DeLay on the November ballot.
The strategist described DeLay's intentions on condition of anonymity, saying the former majority leader intended to make his own announcement.
DeLay resigned his Houston-area seat in June and said he was switching his legal residence to Virginia. He had already won a primary in Texas, and Republican officials there moved to name a replacement candidate.
Democrats went to court to block the switch, and prevailed.
The maneuvering underscored the intensity of the battle between the two national parties as they vie for control of Congress in the midterm elections.
DeLay had held the House seat for more than two decades, but yielded his power — first surrendering his post as majority leader, then resigning his seat — at the urging of party leaders who said he risked defeat this fall and that his presence on the ballot could hamper other incumbents.
He is awaiting trial in Texas state court on money laundering charges alleging that illegal corporate cash helped pay for legislative campaigns in 2002. DeLay also had close ties to Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the center of a congressional corruption investigation.
DeLay has not been charged in that investigation, although two former aides who later developed ties to Abramoff have entered into plea bargains.
Former Rep. Nick Lampson is the Democratic candidate in the race, and had amassed more than $2 million in his campaign treasury as of June 30 in preparation for a race against DeLay.
Texas Republicans on Monday abandoned their court fight to replace DeLay on the November ballot, conceding defeat after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia ruled against them.
"I think all our legal avenues are exhausted in terms of affecting the ruling prior to the election," said Jim Bopp Jr., the attorney who argued the Republican Party's case to allow party officials to substitute another candidate for DeLay.
In a statement late Monday, Bopp warned Democrats, "Be careful what you ask for."
The lawyer said Democrats "insisted he run for Congress, now it's up to voters to decide if Democrats are going to be happy" on Election Day.
Democrats were undaunted by the prospect of facing DeLay in November and claimed victory.
"Given the choice between facing the voters and facing the courts, DeLay chose the courts and lost handily," said Bill Burton, spokesman for the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
I hope you are correct, but that don't sound like Texas to me.
Really, my guess you talked to the temp on the phone.
DeLay's statement is all over the web.
DeLay tried to pull a fast one, and now all of the GOP may have to suffer. There is a better than even chance theat the Dems will take control of the House.
Thanks for nothing, Tom! Good luck on your lobbying career. Hope you make a lot of $$$
What is DeLay's office? It can't be his Congressional office. And it isn't his campaign office. I wonder if you're lying about this, too.
Tom's wife still lives in Texas, so what is DeLay trying to pull? He seems quite unethical to me.
If he thought he could win, I'm sure he would run...
He must have called a Pay Phone. ROFLMAO.
He won the primary! That should be a clue!
Amen.
“This is a conservative district period, despite Lamson's tactics he cannot escape the fact he is an interloper. By this fall I hope someone will step up with a plan, I have faith they will. I am not politically active but know most of the players and they will not fail.”
There is nothing organized for the CD22 race, and I can’t believe how far behind we are. For example, Fort Bend does not even have a central campaign office. Why? The county races are very one-sided. Republicans win the county races and the four precincts are divided such that 3 are strong R and one is strong D. In the past, the central campaign office was a joint office opened up by the CD22 candidate and the Fort Bend Republican Party. No volunteers working phones; no posters to pick up (and no place to pick them up even if they existed). On top of that, we do not have a strong candidate to replace Delay. There are about 5 or 6 potential candidates, and no one has a strong following throughout CD22.
I do not mean to be overly negative, but without Delay running, I can’t see any effort being successful.
Office hours are over now. :(
I knew you were making up the fact that you called DeLay's office.
How dare you post factual news articles!
A bad mistake. Write-ins almost never win and DeLay's name could still carry the race, forcing a special election after he resigns. This move would practically hand the seat to the Dems. This doesn't sound like the Tom DeLay I've grown accustomed to.
Once again you are toying with my emotions.
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