Judge thinks Tom DeLay withdrew from election

[Houston Chronicle] U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks heard the case on Tom DeLay's eligibility to run for reelection Monday. Afterwards Judge Sparks said that he thinks DeLay withdrew from the election rather than becoming ineligible. No official ruling has been issued yet, though.

Tom DeLay has claimed that he moved to his townhouse in Virginia and has registered to vote there. He also now has a Virginia driver's license. However, he still owns his home in Sugar Land, TX where is wife still lives. When asked where he would be on election day, DeLay said he did not know.

The legal issue is whether Tom DeLay became ineligible to run for Congress from Texas or if he withdrew from the race after winning the Republican Primary. If he became ineligible, then the Republican Party can name and run another candidate for the 22nd Congressional District. If he instead withdrew, then state law says the Republican Party cannot replace him on the ballot for the election in November. The district voted 64% for George W. Bush and 55% for Tom DeLay in 2004, so the district clearly leans heavily Republican normally.

Art I Sect 2 of the Constitution states that a Representative must be a resident of the state he represents on the date of the election. DeLay's claim that he became ineligible by moving to Virginia is suspect since he still owns his home in SugarLand, TX and his wife still lives there. Also when asked on the stand where he would be residing in November, DeLay stated that he does not know. There is no clear indicator that he has actually moved and that he will not be resident in Texas on the date of the election.

If the Republicans cannot replace Tom DeLay on the ballot, then the Democrat, Nick Lampson, is expected to win.