Reply #16: BREAKING: DeLay must stay on congressional ballot [View All]

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/08/4gop.html

DeLay must stay on congressional ballot
Appeals court upholds lower court's ruling.

By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, August 03, 2006

The Republican Party of Texas cannot replace Tom Delay on the November ballot, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today.

The appeals court upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks that the Republicans couldn't replace Delay.


Delay, who retired from Congress and moved to Virginia, can stay on the ballot and return to Texas and campaign to regain his old seat — or withdraw and leave U.S. House District. 22 without a Republican candidate. It was not immediately clear if his lawyers would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
DeLay won a March primary before resigning from Congress on June 9. He is awaiting trial in Texas state court on money laundering and conspiracy charges alleging that illegal corporate cash helped pay for legislative campaigns in 2002.

After he moved to Virginia, state Republicans said he was ineligible to run in Texas and sought to replace him on the ballot.

Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Tina Benkiser said she declared DeLay ineligible to be the GOP nominee because of his Virginia driver's license, state tax withholding documents and voter registration. Texas Democrats sued to keep DeLay on the ballot so they can continue to use him as a poster boy for bad behavior.

Sparks, however, cited evidence that DeLay has maintained his homestead exemption in Sugar Land, that his wife continues to live there and that he was found in Texas — not Virginia — when Democrats subpoenaed him to court.

Former Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson is running for the seat.

Additional material from the Associated Press.