Looks like all the folks who said support was weak for Tom DeLay didn't know what they were talking about. He won 62% of the vote in a four-way race for the GOP nomination, handily defeating his opponents.

Still facing legal battles, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay won a pivotal political fight Tuesday by defeating three challengers in the Republican primary for his Houston-area seat.

Opponent Tom Campbell, former general counsel for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, fell short of forcing the former House majority leader into a runoff.

DeLay won 62 percent of the vote in the 22nd Congressional District, which covers parts of Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Galveston counties, according to the totals from 97 percent of precincts.

"I have always placed my faith in the voters, and today's vote shows they have placed their full faith in me," DeLay said in a written victory statement. "This race was about who can effectively represent the values and the priorities of the people in this district, and I'm proud to have earned, and overwhelmingly kept, that trust among Republican voters."

"Not only did they reject the politics of personal destruction, but they strongly rejected the candidates who used those Democrat tactics as their platform," he added.

In second place with 30 percent of the vote was Tom Campbell, former general counsel for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Lawyer Mike Fjetland and former teacher and oil industry credit manager Pat Baig each took less than 5 percent.

"I'm kind of shocked," Fjetland said at the Fort Bend County Republican Party's Primary Night soiree at the Ragin Cajun restaurant in Sugar Land. "I'm very concerned about the future of the Republican Party."

Yes, Tom DeLay ran behind his traditional 82-86% of the primary vote -- but he has never had three opponents before.

One political scientist has this to say.

DeLay's totals show that "nearly 40 percent of an ideologically committed (Republican) vote has decided to bail on him," said Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson. "He still has a hell of a fight in the general election."

I'm going to disagree with this assessment.

Delay has always had about 15% of the district Republicans opposing him. That is how a non-entity like Fjetland did as well as he did in his earlier races against DeLay. We also had a heavy cross-over vote this time around -- I recognized about 10% of those at my precinct as partisan Democrats. After all, when you ask someone if they are coming to vote in the Republican primary and get a response like "Never before, never again, but this time yes," you can be pretty sure that they are not a part of the GOP base.

But I do think there is 20% of the GOP base that opposed Tom DeLay because of his legal troubles, wanting a solid GOP candidate like Campbell to ensure that the seat will be held by a Republican in the event that DeLay's legal troubles continue or get worse. Most of this last group will support Tom DeLay in November.

And the remaining 62%? We don't want outsiders picking our Congressman for us. We don't care if it is Ronnie Earle, the Democrat National Committee, or these guys.

Coming to churches, bowling alleys and living rooms near you: The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress.

As former House Majority Leader DeLay readied himself Tuesday to accept his party's nomination for another congressional term in Washington, D.C., two Texas filmmakers announced plans to release a scathing documentary in DeLay's Sugar Land district, criticizing the popular politician. Tentative plans also call for a screening in Houston, they said.

Numerous liberal groups stepped up to sponsor the film's expected release in early May, including Houston's Pacifica radio station, KPFT-FM (90.1). The film will rely heavily upon releases in small venues and at a few select theaters.

Filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck spent three years following the path of Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle's criminal investigation, which resulted in indictments against DeLay and two political associates.

And I hope every penny spent to produce and show this film is counted as a contribution to Nick Lampson and the Democrats -- making most of the expenditures illegal under federal and state campaign laws.

And, of course, i think this is exhibit #1 in Delay's case for dismissal of the charges against him AND the disbarrment proceedings against Ronnie Earle.

Let me say this -- We, the Constituents of Texas Congressional District 22, will pick our Congressman.

The rest of you can go to hell.

UPDATE: Tom DeLay has this to say, emphasizing the point I made above.

"I'm honored . . . to defend this district from the funding and activism of America's most radical Democrats," he said. "Liberal activists like Barbra Streisand, George Soros and Nancy Pelosi all have a dog in this fight, and his name is Nick Lampson."

Especially if you think back to how the Democrats aced out a popular local minority politician who actually lives in the 22nd District.

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Posted by: Greg at 05:26 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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