Reply #1: DeLay Will Face Voters' Verdict This Week

[Melissa G]

DeLay Will Face Voters' Verdict This Week
Indicted Republican Campaigns Quietly For Texas Primary

By Sylvia Moreno and Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, March 5, 2006; Page A05

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But for the first time -- with DeLay under criminal indictment, rebuked three times by the House ethics committee and linked to former GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to political corruption charges -- the couple is not sure whether their congressman will again get their votes.

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In Tuesday's Republican primary election here, undecided voters such as the Deatses could make the crucial difference for DeLay, whose hold on the seat has never been challenged seriously. But emboldened by DeLay's legal and ethical troubles, three Republicans have stepped up to oppose his renomination.

If DeLay emerges as the party's candidate, the road to reelection will not get any smoother. Former representative Nick Lampson, who has no opponent in the Democratic primary, has been running since last year and, with $1.4 million, has slightly more cash on hand than DeLay, according to the latest campaign finance report. A Houston Chronicle poll in January showed Lampson with a lead over DeLay of eight percentage points.

It will not help DeLay that his district is more Democratic, ironically by his own making. DeLay's legal and ethical entanglements stem from his efforts to redistrict Texas to elect more Republicans to the U.S. House.

Always a strong candidate in his own races, DeLay surrendered GOP voters in the realignment to bolster some other Republican districts. Now, after contending with indictment and departure from the House leadership, he could be facing the loss of the very seat he used to rise to power
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030401034.html