09-29-2005
POLITICS - Dems Ramping Up Efforts To Take DeLay's Texas DistrictMark Wegner
© National Journal Group, Inc.
Democrats signaled they would use Wednesday's indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to maximum political advantage in their bid for his Houston-area district and in their campaign to win the House.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declined to offer immediate comment on DeLay's indictment, but DCCC Executive Director John Lapp, in an e-mail to potential donors, said the party is focused on "ousting Tom DeLay and his cronies."
He urged recipients to boost DCCC fundraising before the end of the third quarter, which closes Friday.
"We must put Democrats in the majority to put an end to this corruption once and for all. A strong showing at the end of the quarter will prove to the Republicans that we have the resources to hold them accountable," Lapp wrote.
Democrats have repeatedly called DeLay's ethics into question and used the controversy to criticize other vulnerable GOP incumbents.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Thomas Reynolds of New York downplayed the political significance of DeLay's indictment, which stemmed from a campaign to elect Republicans to the Texas state House.
"I have never in my time in Congress seen the actions of one member impact another," Reynolds said. "We're moving forward decisively and we'll get our agenda done."
DeLay faces a challenge in his own Texas district from former Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson, who lost his seat in large part because of a GOP-friendly redistricting effort that DeLay led.
Asked about whether the indictment would affect his re-election, DeLay shook his head and smiled. "You all figure it out," he said.
Lampson campaign manager Mike Malaise said DeLay will find it harder to dismiss the grand jury investigation into his election activities as partisan politics.
"Tom DeLay and his campaign are trying to say this is a political matter, but it's a grand jury of his Texas peers," he said. "It will show Southeast Texas what he's doing instead of working at home."
DeLay's 22nd District is anchored in Harris and Fort Bend counties and remains a solid GOP district, despite the addition of some Democratic voters in the last redistricting.
Malaise confirmed Lampson and the DCCC have discussed holding a series of regional fundraisers around the country to raise money for Lampson and the DCCC. He said those plans were delayed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"Everything has just been on hold," Malaise said. "That stuff is still in the works. Pretty soon we'll have some dates."
Harris County Republican Party Executive Director Lonnie McBee said the local party in May passed a resolution of support for DeLay, and said response to DeLay's indictment Wednesday was equally supportive.
"I've got a stack of phone calls and e-mails asking, 'what are you going to put out to defend Tom DeLay?'" said McBee.
Former Rep. Martin Frost, D-Texas, who also lost his seat because of DeLay's redistricting map, said DeLay's district is "uphill" for a Democrat, but not without precedence in Texas.
"This may become the single most important race in the country," Frost said.
Frost pointed to the 1992 election of Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, who came to Congress in a Democratic tilting district after ousting scandal-tainted former Democratic Rep. Albert Bustamante.
Bustamante, who was under an FBI investigation, was later convicted on racketeering and bribery charges.
Bonilla dismissed any parallels between DeLay and Bustamante. He noted Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, survived an indictment brought by the same prosecutor who has targeted DeLay.
"She won her election. She was stronger than ever," he said.
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