Delay, Let Him Sweat

DeLay fights for his political life in Texas
By John Whitesides, Political CorrespondentWed Mar 1, 12:35 PM ET

He has been indicted, rebuked and dethroned from his Republican leadership perch, but Tom DeLay's fight for re-election to Congress could be the biggest challenge in a long political career.

DeLay, nicknamed "the Hammer" for the blunt way he wielded power during 22 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been swamped by ethics allegations that have made him a prime Democratic target in November's elections and a national symbol for charges of Republican corruption.

Once one of Washington's most powerful politicians, DeLay is scrambling to fight a Texas legal indictment and hold off challengers from both parties in his House race in the suburbs of Houston.

"You never know how well an election will go for an indicted person," DeLay acknowledged in an interview with Reuters after a recent breakfast with Houston-area realtors.

"Getting beat up by the national media and the Houston Chronicle has taken its toll," DeLay said, referring to the local newspaper. "It's polarized my district, you either love me or hate me. Thank God there are still more that love me."

The combative former House Republican leader will begin to learn how many folks at home still love him on Tuesday, when he faces three challengers in a Republican primary.

If he survives, he will square off in November against former Democratic congressman Nick Lampson in one of the country's most high-profile, expensive and no doubt bitter races.

"DeLay is in trouble. The primary is no sure thing and the general election is even more dangerous," said Richard Murray, a political analyst at the University of Houston.

"Much of this is totally beyond his control," he said. "If he gets convicted in Texas or indicted in Washington, it would be the end for DeLay."

REDISTRICTING CHALLENGE

DeLay, indicted in Texas last year on campaign finance charges, resigned from his leadership post in January. He has been rebuked by the House ethics committee and linked to a corruption scandal involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former DeLay aides. He has not been charged in the Abramoff probe.

DeLay has denied wrongdoing in both cases and says the allegations are politically motivated. His rivals say DeLay's pugnacious style is simply catching up to him.

"This is the epicenter of a national debate on how we conduct the public's business. He believes in a hardball, win at any cost version of slash-and-burn politics that I think is wrong," Tom Campbell, a former DeLay supporter and now his top primary challenger, told Reuters.

Lampson calls DeLay a "bully" and said voters in the district have tired of his style.

"He has left us a legacy of debt, corruption and neglect, and he can't run from it," Lampson said. "I think it's something he has helped usher into our Congress that people would like to see changed."

DeLay compounded his troubles when he engineered a Texas redistricting plan that in 2004 helped take six House seats from Democrats, including Lampson, by making their districts more Republican.

To help his Republican neighbors, DeLay added Democrats to his district, including a patch of Lampson's old turf. DeLay's district, including some of the country's fastest-growing suburbs south of Houston, has been flooded by new residents with little allegiance to him.

DeLay's redistricting plan has been challenged in the courts, and the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case on Wednesday.

Polls show DeLay's support has dropped since the indictment and Abramoff publicity, with a USA Today/Gallup poll in December showing him losing to an unnamed Democratic opponent and scoring a favorability rating of just 37 percent.

"I'm bothered by all the investigations and scandals," said Veniece Griffin, a Missouri City Republican who plans to vote for Campbell. "DeLay has had 20 years, and he's not representing me."

DeLay is taking the challenge seriously, hitting the campaign trail hard to tout his ability to win money for the district and reminding audiences of his long service.

At the realtors' breakfast gathering, he recalled his days a pest exterminator in the area. "I crawled under a lot of your houses and through a lot of your attics," DeLay said.

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