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The History of Successful Congressional Write-In Candidates. The Republican efforts to keep the CD-22 seat, recently vacated by former US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, face long odds. In US history, only five times has a general election to Congress been won by a write-in candidate. US Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina won as a write-in in 1954, but was already widely known and popular figure, having previously served as Governor, as the Dixiecrat candidate for President in 1948, and was a leader of the South’s resistance to integration (Brown v. Board of Education having been decided earlier that...

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...

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,...

The on-again, off-again procedure to find a Republican ballot replacement for Tom DeLay is on again. At least for now. But it could be back off again as soon as Monday (more on that later). Texas GOP Chairman Tina Benkiser’s office sent out a statement this morning saying U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks has denied a request by the state Democratic Party to extend a temporary restraining order that essentially froze DeLay replacement candidates in their tracks. Benkiser faxed GOP chairs in Fort Bend, Harris, Brazoria and Galveston counties, asking that they schedule executive committee meetings quickly (more on that...

Steve Stockman won’t be running as an independent in the race for retired former congressman Tom DeLay’s District 22 seat. Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams ruled Thursday that although Stockman had gathered more than 600 signatures in petitions aimed at putting him on the ballot, fewer than the required 500 signatures were valid. Stockman is a one-term Republican congressman narrowly defeated by Democrat Nick Lampson in 1994. Lampson went on to serve three terms in Congress, then was defeated by Republican Ted Poe, a former judge from Harris County, after Lampson’s district was dramatically altered in a 2004 redistricting....

SUGAR LAND, Texas - Supporters of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay protested at an event Thursday held by the Democratic candidate for the congressman's seat, and the event quickly dissolved into a shouting and shoving match. Police were called, but made no arrests. "I got pushed. I got hit. I got a sign wadded up in my face and my hat pulled down over my eyes," said Marsha Rovai, 69, a supporter of Nick Lampson. "They just did it to be nasty." DeLay campaign manager Chris Homan said he organized the protest but DeLay, a Republican, didn't know about it. "Mr....

Just days after Congressman Tom DeLay announced he would step down from office in May or June, the Democrat candidate for the seat is pushing for him to get out now. “Tom DeLay lost this race. Now it’s time for him to move on,” Nick Lampson said in a statement Wednesday. “Our seat in Congress should not be empty while Tom DeLay tries to manipulate who his successor will be.” In an exclusive interview with The Daily News on Monday, DeLay announced his intentions to resign from office and move to Virginia. He said he wanted to remain in the...

Supporters of US Representative Tom DeLay were not happy Thursday with Democratic candidate (and Beaumont-native) Nick Lampson`s call for the congressman to immediately resign. A group of DeLay supporters rallied outside Sugar Land City Hall at a 10 a.m. news conference called by Democratic candidate Nick Lampson, who demanded the outgoing congressman formally resign so that voters can chose their new representation during a special election on May 13. Lampson asked that DeLay vacate his office by Friday, which would allow Gov. Rick Perry to order a special election much earlier than the Nov. 7 election date. But the news...

TOM DELAY wants you to know that his decision to stand down for reelection and resign from Congress by summer has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with the investigation into the business practices of Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who pleaded guilty to corruption, bribery, and wire fraud charges (among others) in January and who was sentenced to almost six years in prison (for starters) last week."I paid lawyers to investigate me as if they were prosecuting me," DeLay told Time's Mike Allen, who broke the story late yesterday evening. "They found nothing. There is absolutely nothing--no connection with Jack Abramoff...

The race for the District 22 congressional seat became a bit more crowded over the weekend. The Libertarian Party nominated Bob Smither, founder of the Friendswood-based Laura Recovery Center, to be its candidate for the seat now held by Republican Tom DeLay. Smither edged out Stan Norred an operator for BP for the nomination Saturday by seven votes. To be eligible to nominate at the convention registered voters must not have voted in either the Democrat and Republican primaries. The engineering consultant is known for the tragic case that involved the kidnapping and murder of his daughter Laura Smither. The...

Former Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) has nearly $1.6 million on hand and many supporters will soon start “pounding the pavement,” his campaign manager, Mike Malaise, said yesterday. Lampson is challenging Rep. Tom DeLay in the 22nd District, in the Houston suburbs. DeLay easily won the Republican primary Tuesday. Malaise said that many Democratic volunteers had been preoccupied with Democratic primaries in recent months and that now they could focus their energy on defeating the 11th-term former House majority leader. Those volunteers, Malaise added, would primarily canvass districts. DeLay is under indictment in a Texas campaign-finance case, and he has also...

Delay's opponent in the Congressional race IS a Liberal Democrat. Tom Delay's Congressional Race Opponent indicated to Chris Matthews (Hard Ball MSNBC), in an interview shown on Monday, that he would vote for Pelosi for Speaker of the House. Since Pelosi cracks the whip so hard, he won't be the only one. Delay's Opponent, Nick Lampson, has now shown that he is a LIBERAL Democrat.

Statewide Democratic leaders will meet in Galveston on Jan. 7 for a “Turn Texas Blue” banquet. The Galveston County Democratic Party will be the host of the banquet at the Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center. A social hour is set for 6 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 7 p.m. Speakers include Leo Gerard, general president of the United Steelworkers Union; Texas author and humorist Jim Hightower; Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting; Texas AFL-CIO President Emmett Sheppard; and Congressional candidates Nick Lampson and Shane Sklar. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will open the program...

WASHINGTON — A former Democratic congressman on Tuesday launched a national fund-raiser aimed at unseating Rep. Tom DeLay () next year as the former House majority leader battles an indictment and ethics charges. Nick Lampson () lost his congressional seat last November after Texas Republicans targeted him and other Democratic House incumbents in a DeLay-backed plan to redraw the state's district lines. Those targeted in the Lone Star State became known as the "Texas Five." The incumbents at risk were: Reps. Martin Frost, Charles Stenholm, Max Sandlin and Lampson. Rep. Chet Edwards was the only Democrat out of the five to keep...

STAFFORD, Texas (AP) - A former Democratic congressman announced Wednesday that he will try to win the seat held by Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who has been hounded by allegations of ethics violations. "We need leaders with a high standard of accountability to the public; who will recognize that there is only one standard for ethical behavior," Nick Lampson told reporters gathered on the front lawn of his aunt's house in suburban Houston. Although Lampson peppered his remarks with comments about an ethics controversy DeLay is facing, he claimed he would focus on his record from four terms...

In the latest sign of fallout from redistricting, Nick Lampson – one of the Texas Democrats who lost his congressional seat last fall – says he's seriously considering a run against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. And he's not alone. Democrats are increasingly confident that a strong, well-funded candidate could give Mr. DeLay at least a scare, as ethics controversies mount for the Sugar Land Republican. "It would not be a fun effort. It would be very hard. It would be very ugly. It would require raising an awful lot of money," Mr. Lampson said last week. "But it's clear...

Lampson should run vs. DeLay, Dems say By ROLANDO GARCIAThe Enterprise 04/08/2005    Printer-friendly Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson is considering running against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in the Republican kingpin's suburban Houston congressional district, the Beaumont Democrat said Thursday. It is solidly Republican territory, but Democrats sense DeLay's recent ethics troubles could make him vulnerable in 2006. Lampson said national Democratic Party activists are urging him to enter the race and he expects to make a decision within a couple of weeks. "I still don't know if that's something I want to do, but I'm not taking...

Incumbents who lost their bid for re-election: Georgia House 12. Republican Congressman Max Burns defeated by Democrat John Barrow Illinois House 8. Republican Congressman Philip Crane defeated by Democrat Melissa Bean Indiana Governor. Democratic Governor Joe Kernan defeated by Republican Mitch Daniels Indiana House 9. Democratic Congressman Baron Hill defeated by Republican Mike Sodrel New Hampshire Governor. Republican Governor Craig Benson defeated by Democrat John Lynch South Dakota Senate Class 3. Democratic Senator Tom Daschle defeated by Republican John Thune Texas House 1. Democratic Congressman Max Sandlin defeated by Republican Louis Gohmert Texas House 2. Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson defeated...

Redistricting doesn't stop Democrats Thursday, January 22, 2004 The re-redistricting bomb that U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay dropped on white Texas Democrats in Congress was huge. However, all but two have filed for re-election anyway. Wouldn't it be ironic if several won? Ralph Hall of Rockwall switched to the Republicans, whom he'd been with for years in all but the initial after his name, anyway. And Jim Turner of Crockett decided not to run again. With $1 million in his campaign bank, he says he might run for governor or the U.S. Senate in 2006. But the main Democrats targeted...

Move-On citizen activists from all over Southeast Texas met with Congressman Nick Lampson in his offices in Clear Lake, Texas to urge Congressman Lampson to support House resolutions calling for a complete investigation of the intelligence leading to our decision to go to war. On the day that the Pentagon announced that the death toll in Iraq-nam had surpassed that of the 1990 Gulf War, ten citizen volunteers from Move-On met with Congressman Nick Lampson to urge the Congressmen to press for a formal Congressional inquiry into the intelligence failure which mislead America into supporting a unitlateral invasion of Iraq....