The
Houston Chronicle reported today that federal Judge Sam Sparks is on the verge of declaring that Tom DeLay "withdrew" from his congressional race, rather than became ineligible. Sparks stated that he will issue his ruling to this effect as early as next week. The effect of this? Delicious! Check it out under the fold.
If DeLay merely "withdrew" from his race, after winning the Republican primary, his name remains on the ballot as the Republican nominee, despite having resigned his seat in Congress and (being run out of Texas) moving to Virginia.
At issue is whether DeLay withdrew from the race after he won the primary or is ineligible to be on the ballot. If he is ruled ineligible, a committee of four Republican precinct chairs representing each of the counties in the 22nd District -- Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris -- would be able to select a nominee to replace him.
However, the Texas Democratic Party lawyers argued otherwise at yesterday's trial.
Democrats argued that DeLay has merely withdrawn from the race, and therefore his name should remain on the ballot -- a move they believe would benefit Democratic nominee Nick Lampson because of DeLay's ongoing legal troubles.
No shit it would benefit Nick Lampson. He'd skate to an easy win against a disgraced Republican who (ahem) cut and ran. But even if the Republicans are able to overturn this imminent decision, the delays inherent in appealing the case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would hamstring East Texas Republicans, seeking a speedy replacement candidate.
DeLay, who also owns a house in Sugar Land where his wife continues to live, officially resigned from Congress on June 9. Republicans are trying to replace DeLay as quickly as possible so the new candidate has enough time to campaign and raise money.
This would mean that, at best, the Republicans are looking at not having a candidate in this race until August, or even September or October. It looks pretty grim for the Texas Rs.
"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.
A juicy part of this case for the Democratic Party lawyers must have been cross-examining DeLay, who testified live that he moved to Alexandria, opened an office in DC, and voted in the Virginia primaries after having registered to vote in Virginia.
Under cross-examination by attorney Cris Feldman, representing the Democratic Party, DeLay said he doesn't know where he will be in November.
Feldman said it supports the Democrats' contention that DeLay could be back living in Texas when voters go to the polls in November. The U.S. Constitution only requires a candidate to be a resident of the state by Election Day.
Feldman also introduced a document that DeLay filed last November in connection with his indictment on money-laundering charges, which stem from fundraising activities in the 2002 state legislative election.
DeLay asked for the case, which is pending in Travis County, to be moved to his home county of Fort Bend.
Ahhhh, the best laid plans of mice and men often fall into disaster. Cheer up folks, we might still have Tommy to kick around some more, and, best of all, Nick is gonna win one for the party.