Burnt Orange Report

DeLay in Trouble?

By Byron LaMasters

It's common knowledge that Tom DeLay might be indicted by the Travis County District Attorney in the coming months because of his questionable activities during the 2002 campaign cycle. A lot of us have wondered, though, if all the bad media is hurting Tom DeLay in his home district. Kos has gotten ahold of some polling data that suggests that DeLay may have some reelection worries:

I've gotten my hands on some polling data from the district, and it's surprisingly poor for DeLay. His Approval/Disapprovals are 44/48. On the reelect question, 36 percent would definitely vote for him, 27 percent would consider someone else, and 27 percent would definitely vote for someone else.

53 percent of respondents were pro-choice, with only 34 percent following DeLay's strict anti-choice line.

Woah. This is a partisan poll (though not from Democratic candidate Morris), so I was a bit suspicious. So I did a bit of digging around, and there does appear to be a bit of DeLay fatigue in the district. The redistricting battle, while a massive victory for DeLay and the GOP, took a toll on his popularity. And the Earle investigation in Austin -- the one that threatens to indict DeLay -- has also garnered him repeated bad press. And let's not forget the aides who got caught billing Indian tribes $45 million for lobbying.

Now, I'm not going to get my hopes up. The district, as it is drawn, is a long shot for any Democrat, especially a challenger who has never represented any part of the district in government at any level. Still, Richard Morrison is a smart and competent challenger, and if the shit hits the fan for DeLay (which is entirely possible), then sending a few bucks his way might be a good investment. Even so, making Tom DeLay squirm a little bit is always fun.