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With 40 percent of the votes tallied, it appeared two Houston lawyers - a Republican and a Democrat - will face one another in a runoff to complete an unexpired term in Texas Senate District 17. As of 10:30 p.m., 183,125 ballots were counted. With neither Democrat Chris Bell nor Republican Joan Huffman winning 50 percent plus 1, the candidates will go to a special election in December. Reached at her campaign headquarters, Huffman she was ready to go "head to head" with Bell. She received 26 percent of the votes cast. "We are optimistic," she said. "So far it...

Candidates lining up to replace longtime Travis County district attorney. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who has led that office since 1977, told his staff today that he will not seek re-election. He was expected to issue a statement later. Earle, 65, will serve the one year remaining on his term, but his retirement will end an era. "Is the district attorney's job an elective office?" Ken Oden, a former county attorney, once quipped about his friend's long tenure. Earle, a Democrat, might not be done with politics. By retiring, he would be available for a gubernatorial bid in...

No, I'm NOT being metaphorical nor am I kidding. If I wasn't having so much fun laughing at Ronnie Earle, I might even wish that it weren't true. Evidently Travis County DA Ronnie Earle - who is once again back in the running for most politically-driven DA in the nation now that Mike Nifong has been disbarred - is involved in this New Age, "re-discover your masculinity" cult called the ManKind Project. That's according to the liberal Houston Press. And boy does this outfit sound scary. Forty men at a time strip down and do tribal dances and beat cooked...

AUSTIN, Texas - The state's highest criminal court on Wednesday refused to reinstate a dropped conspiracy charge against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Houston is at a turning point. With a boost from noted urbanist Joel Kotkin, our city has begun recasting its national reputation from "that ugly, sprawling, weird city without zoning" to the exemplar city for "Opportunity Urbanism," a compelling new paradigm for cities in the 21st century. This paradigm asserts that the fundamental (but recently forgotten) core mission of cities is to accelerate the upward social and economic mobility of its inhabitants. This may sound obvious to the average person, but in the wonkish world of urban policy and planning, the themes of the past decade have been environmentalism (smart...

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is calling on the Justice Department either to drop its investigation of his wife and former political associates or else to bring charges quickly. DeLay said he has given the FBI documents exonerating his wife, but an associate of the former lawmaker said that agents have followed up with a fresh round of subpoenas. The inquiry appears to be focused on determining whether DeLay’s wife, Christine, earned her pay from two organizations controlled by Ed Buckham, a lobbyist once closely affiliated with the former Republican leader, according to sources interviewed by federal investigators....

WASHINGTON (Dec. 26) - Former U.S. Republican leader Tom DeLay, known as "The Hammer" for his tough tactics on Capitol Hill, hasn't nailed the art of typing but that's not keeping him from a new career as a blogger. The former U.S. House of Representatives leader's entry into the blogosphere brought an onslaught of nasty responses during a trial run on Sunday, December 10. "I guess liberals are the only ones around on Sunday afternoons and they inundated us with vile, nasty comments. We pulled it down and cleaned it up," DeLay told Reuters. In an interview, he said he...

The National Democratic Party has spent $50,000 promoting a nominal Republican write-in candidate to succeed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a move the more prominent GOP campaign called a "desperate" effort to split the write-in vote. The mailout on behalf of write-in candidate Don Richardson describes positions potentially appealing to conservatives who, according to a recent Chronicle-11 News poll, make up at least 55 percent of the district's population. "Don Richardson supports President Bush's Patriot Act," the mailer says. "Do you?" It also says he would put troops on the border to stop illegal immigration, allow law enforcement officials...

On Monday President Bush flies into Houston to campaign for a congressional candidate who — at one point — looked like a long shot. But an exclusive poll indicates that Shelley Sekula-Gibbs may pull off a political upset and win her write-in campaign for Congress.

SUGAR LAND — Mayor David Wallace will not run as a write-in Republican candidate for the congressional seat vacated by Tom DeLay. Wallace announced his decision about the Congressional District 22 race today at a news conference at Sugar Land City Hall. The decision comes after Republican party leaders from Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties selected Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as the party's choice to run in the November election as a write-in candidate. No Republican will appear on the ballot because DeLay stepped down after winning the nomination in March. A court ruled the party could...

In a recent speech, I told the audience about the political landscape of the 2006 elections. It’s going to be much tougher for Republicans than in recent election cycles. As a political party, we must have our act together in order to be successful. Unfortunately, that task has become tougher. The congressional seat of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay is now in jeopardy thanks in part to a failure in leadership from party officials. Following a primary election victory, Rep. DeLay decided, through the advice of party officials, that because of the media circus that was surrounding his pending court...

Write-in candidate names are not on the ballot by design. To cast a vote for one on the electronic eSlate machines, which don't have a keyboard, you'll have to use the "select" dial to choose "write-in." Even then, the names won't automatically pop up, said Scott Haywood, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office. In each booth there will be a printed list of candidates who have been certified for the Congressional District 22 race. Using the dial and a picture of a keyboard on the screen, the voter will click the letters of the name they want. Potential...

Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace will be a write-in candidate for the seat House Majority Leader Tom DeLay abandoned, according to a member of Wallace's campaign team. Wallace made the decision after DeLay announced Tuesday that he would withdraw his name from the November ballot, leaving the Republican slot blank and opening up the race to a GOP write-in candidate. The state Republican Party lost its legal battle to replace DeLay with another candidate of its choosing earlier this week. Anyone can run as a write-in candidate. But the state Republican Party says it will back a single campaign. "Republicans...

AUSTIN - A federal judge hearing a ballot dispute Monday involving former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay said he thinks that DeLay withdrew from the November election, indicating potential trouble for Republicans who want to name a replacement candidate. "He is not going to participate in the election and he withdrew," said U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, who did not issue an official ruling after a daylong trial regarding DeLay's status as the GOP nominee for the 22nd Congressional District. Jim Bopp, a lawyer for the Republican Party of Texas, disagreed, telling Sparks "there's been no withdrawal." Bopp said that instead,...

Court nixes part of Texas political map By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld most of the Republican-boosting Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay but threw out part, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights. ADVERTISEMENT The fractured decision was a small victory for Democratic and minority groups who accused Republicans of an unconstitutional power grab in drawing boundaries that booted four Democratic incumbents from office. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060628/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_texas_redistricting Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, said Hispanics do not have...

I was sitting at the computer reading about the cruise my daughter and I are taking this weekend, when the phone rings, and a womans voice announces that there is a message for concerned West virginians. She then goes on to say that Shelly Moore Capito is a friend of indicted Tom Delay etc, etc, etc... I hung up about then, but thought, damn, the Dems are getting worried for some reason. I wish Shelly had chosen to take on "Sheets"!

Nobody shed a tear shed when Tom DeLay announced he was resigning from the House of Representatives. For Congress, for the Republican Party and for the American people, it’s goodbye and good riddance. Republicans needed Tom DeLay like they need another Duke Cunningham. There’s only so much sleaze any party can stand. Even Republicans! Tom DeLay represents the worst of American politics. He’s mean. He’s ruthless. He was always more interested in amassing — and abusing — political power than in serving the people or working with members of the opposition to pass important legislation. He never built bridges. He...

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<p>WASHINGTON - Tony Rudy, a former top aide to Rep. Tom DeLay, has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the widening federal investigation of lobbyist fraud, a law enforcement official said Friday.</p> <p>A hearing was scheduled Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, where Rudy was expected to enter his plea.</p>

Let the campaigning begin! No, not the Oscars. That race is almost over. The next big campaign is Election 2006. And who in D.C. is enjoying the entertainment biz's largesse this election year? According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group, it's -- no surprise -- Hillary Clinton, who has taken in $213,645 so far from movie, TV and music industry sources. Second place is closely contested by two Teds: Ted Stevens, Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee ($100,500), and Ted Kennedy, of the Democratic family dynasty ($94,600). Clinton has been a Hollywood favorite almost from...