 Ed. note: Now's as good a time as any: donate to Nick Lampson.
From Quorum Report we have what has been bouncing around in the Texas bloggers list.
Here is what we hear from independent Texas sources. Tom DeLay will resign, probably by the end of the week in order to allow Gov. Rick Perry to call a special election. The presumptive favorite is David Wallace, mayor of Sugar Land. ABC confirms to QR that DeLay will give up his Texas residency and move to the DC area. The story broke through a Time interview.
And an update.
In Washington, there has been some speculation whether DeLay can remove himself from the ballot in Congressional District 22 at all, post-primary. Typically, under Texas law, the only way a candidate would be taken off the ballot is either to lie or to move out of state. The question, legally, is whether the ballot has been certified, and whether this timing – between the primary and run-off – is a loophole that gives the Republican Party a chance to offer up another candidate in Congressional District 22.
When contacted, the Texas Secretary of State's Office withheld comment pending legal review tomorrow morning. If the Governor can call a special election to replace Mr. Delay, it is not far fetched to believe that he can be placed on the ballot.
And the best quote from the Lone Star Project (sadly) is...
Matt Angle, former chief of US Rep. Martin Frost, runs the Lone Star Project out of Washington, DC. Angle says DeLay’s mission is now complete.
"Tom DeLay has managed to remove every single leader in the Texas delegation, including himself," Angle said. "He’s removed three ranking members, a key whip and now the majority leader of the House."
Off the Kuff brings up a great point about Texas Elections...
Pop quiz, boys and girls: In what way will that special election differ from the November election, which will take place with a different Republican nominee regradless of the outcome of that special election? That's right - it takes a majority vote to win a special election for an unexpired term of Congress. With Steve Stockman and a Libertarian Party candidate on the November ballot, it was not at all farfetched for Nick Lampson to win the seat with a plurality of the vote. That won't cut it in a special - there will be a runoff if no one gets a majority. My guess is that DeLay thinks it'll be harder for Lampson to get a majority as a challenger than a simple plurality. Plus, he now has to win two elections.
The Houston Chronicle says that if the resignation (in whatever form that may be) come, it will trigger a special election in which case Kuff's commentary comes into play...
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was touched by a lobbying scandal that ensnared some of his former top aides and cost the Republican his leadership post, won't seek re-election to Congress, officials said today.
They said DeLay also is likely to resign his seat and leave Congress by the end of May or mid-June. That would trigger a special election for his replacement.
DeLay v. The World blog reports an interesting scenario too.
I'm pretty confident, however, that DeLay can be replaced on the general election ballot by the State Republican Executive Committee.
If that's true, and if there ends up being a special election, then it's conceivably possible that SREC could nominate someone other than the winner of a special election to fill DeLay's spot vs. Lampson
Oh heaven help us. |
