DeLay WINS GOP NOMINATION to the house with 64% of votes

[Bluebear]

SUGAR LAND, Texas - Rep. Tom DeLay won the GOP nomination to the House on Tuesday, beating three challengers in his first election since he was indicted and forced to step aside as majority leader.

With 14 percent of precincts reporting, DeLay had 10,005 votes, or 64 percent. His closest challenger, environmental attorney Tom Campbell, had 4,049 votes, or 26 percent.

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

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/texas_primary

(Evidently the good voters of his district care nothing about his indictments.)

[bluestateguy]

1. with 14% of precincts reporting

I am not acknowledging this outcome seeing as how 86% of precincts are still out.

The race is stil up in the air.

[Bluebear]

6. Fair enough. AP is calling it, though. nt

[bluestateguy]

9. Good for AP

I have an advanced degree in the social sciences, and several graduate courses in voting behavior and statistics, and don't need to be told by the little pissants at AP when an election is over.

[Bluebear]

18. Yes sir. nt

[Mithras61]

19. Latest results are at...

http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/rep1race5.htm

You may have to hit refresh to get the latest counts. AT last glance, 35% of precincts reporting and he has 65% of the vote...

[Mithras61]

20. Just updated to 71% reporting...

and he's down to 61%


This may be a "win" for us in that he expected to win by 2/3 or more of the R vote.

[Rex]

21. They don't have to report in for the wire to know the score.

wink wink.

[EFerrari]

24. What kind of machines are they, do you know? nt

[Mithras61]

25. All the counties in question are using...

the Hart eSlate (and yes, it's DRE).

[EFerrari]

29. Thank you!

:)

[Mithras61]

30. No problem...

in my precinct convention we voted in favor of a resolution requiring paper ballots be generated (we got this POSes too).

In fact 100% (of all four dems that showed up :D) agreed that voter verifiable paper ballots should be required under state and federal law. I spent several hours today trying to convince people of BOTH political parties that all of the major corporate e-voting machines were like having your old paper ballot put into a can with no chain of responsibility and no seals or protections to keep someone from swapping it out for a can with all forged ballots. I think I may have even reached a couple of 'pukes on it (older folks who have no clue about electronic voting, mostly).

[EFerrari]

31. Keep up the good fight. We're hustling in CA, too.

The appointed Thug SoS is trying to reshove Diebold down our throats.

In his dreams. :)

[xxqqqzme]

41. is roachman's trial B4 November?

[Mithras61]

43. I believe they're still making motions, but I think the trial begins...

in early summer...

[Rex]

39. Dunno but I bet they tilt in DeLay's favor.

The guy can't even pee straight.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. What they care about...

Is the money he pumps into the district.

[pauldp]

3. what type of ballots were used?

unfortunately we always have to ask that these days.

[tsuki]

5. Are they allowing exit polls?

[Freddie Stubbs]

61. Of course

there are no laws against exit polling.

[tsuki]

4. Either the voters of Texas are brain dead, or Diebold has done the

deed.

[Critters2]

76. And both explanations are plausible!

[Mithras61]

7. Good! That means he takes on Lampson straight up...

no holds barred... and Lampson is better financed and had him by 22% in January polling.

[still_one]

12. I wouldn't make any assumptions with the voters in texas

look what they have given themseleves and the country

[Mithras61]

16. I'm not making assumptions...

I'm stating facts as currently available. Tom DeLay may have been renominated in his district, but his district is running heavily against him in the general election polling that has been done. People who have supported him his entire career are saying that they wouldn't vote for Bugman even if he was offering cash for votes.

[still_one]

23. didn't mean to imply you were making assumptions

what our country has been through the last 6 years has taught me to be cautious, especially when it comes to polling

It is quite encouraging to hear you say that people who have supported him for his entire career wouldn't vote for him

Would those people vote for a Democrat or not at all?

[Mithras61]

27. The ones that have been interviewed are saying...

"I've been a Republican all my life, and I will vote against Tom DeLay>" or words to that effect. Very few are saying they simply won't vote. They know he's corrupt, but this time he over-reached and they want him gone. He makes them look corrupt b yhis latest scandal, and I think they're fed up and going to toss him out.


I don't expect Lampson to hold the district unless the SCOTUS nixes the redistricting plan as requested in the appeal before them now, but we can always hope...

[still_one]

38. Thanks, appreciate the insight

[wordpix2]

78. what is wrong with the repuke sheeple? They don't read or watch the news?

[AnneD]

67. Exactly....

I am actually glad to see this. He had to work hard for this GOP nomination. He spent more money campaigning than he has in years, and just for a party nomination. In Nov it will be DeLay and Lampson. My money is on Lampson to win for a big upset. Don't bad mouth Texas so quickly...this was a good thing.

[pinto]

17. Good point.

:thumbsup:

[sandrakae]

8. Interbreeding will cause this.

[Lilith Velkor]

73. Nah, I think inbreeding caused this.

[sandrakae]

82. Thanks. That is the word I was trying to come up with at midnight.

[Lilith Velkor]

83. It'll happen

:donut:

[thinkingwoman]

10. It's the primary

Republicans (and frankly Democrats too) tend to re-nominate their incumbants, thinking that will give them the edge in November.

Delay winning the primary (if that is indeed what happens) doesn't mean anything about November.

[cannabis_flower]

37. This really means nothing...

In Texas you can vote in either primary no matter what party you have previously voted for. You just can't vote in the Democratic runoff if you voted in the Republican primary.

If I was a Democrat in Delay's district - and I didn't care about participating in the conventions process - I would vote in the Republican primary and try to get Delay as the Republican candidate. He's damaged goods and might be easier to beat than an undamaged although unknown opponent. It's been known to happen before - I believe the last time I've heard of that happening it was Republicans voting in the Democratic primary, although it might have happened in races I wasn't paying attention to more recently.

I noticed that there were like 32,000 votes in the Republican primary and something like 2,000 in the Democratic primary in this district. This might actually be expected no matter how many Democrats are in this district because Nick Lampson is unopposed and people probably care who the Republican opposing Nick Lampson is more than they care which Democrat is running for Governor against Perry, Kinky and Strayhorn.

[thinkingwoman]

72. Excellent point! Thanks for posting this

Being from Indiana, I was unaware that voting in either primary was an option in Texas. We have the same option here in Indiana and I have participated in helping the opposition choose the wrong candidate before. :evilgrin:

Thanks for pointing out that this may be happening in Texas. In fact, I'd bet it is.

[cannabis_flower]

85. Things are looking good for Lampson

I double-checked my numbers and it's actually worse than I reported.

In the 2004 primaries in the 22nd Congressional district 10,223 people voted in the Democratic primary and 15,490 votes were cast in the Republican primary.

There were actually 33,160 votes cast in the 2006 22nd Republican primary. That makes it even more lopsided.

http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/

Since Lampson was unopposed this race was not on the SOS website and numbers are on the Harris County website.

In the 22nd Congressional district 1,803 votes were cast for Nick Lampson out of 2064 people who voted in that district. Since there was no opponent, that means 261 people did not vote in this race in the Democratic primary.

http://www.election.co.harris.tx.us/Dem/dem_results_for_20060307.htm

To complicate matters Delay won with 66.63% of the vote, this of course means that 33.37% of people who voted in the Republican primary voted against Delay - however, I doubt that Democrats voting in the Republican primary would have voted for Delay's opponents - Democrats would rather have Delay as the opponent than a new Republican that is a copy of Delay on the issues but without all the baggage.

[MuseRider]

11. Well this certainly proves that he

stands for Republican values doesn't it?

[Horse with no Name]

13. I don't believe these results but

Brazoria, Ft. Bend, Galveston and Harris are all Hart eSlate.

[aquart]

47. I know nothing about the e-slate.

I just know the bastards are trying to steal my levers.

[Nutmegger]

14. Although it would be nice to his ass handed to him

It would be better for us in November if he were to go against the Dem.

DeLay better get his fumigation equipment ready.

[kurth]

15. Sugar Land deserves the asshole they elected

With apologies to Democrats who live in Sugar Land.

[depakid]

22. Yep- and if the Dems ever (by some devibe intervention)

regain power, they need to put some heavy payback directly on to that district.

Treat them EXACTLY like DeLay treats others.

[katinmn]

64. Yes, but we don't!

The whole nation suffers under the hand of that vile puke.

[PhilipShore]

26. Delay elected by the Redneck Capital of the world

[stevedeshazer]

28. This is excellent news.

We have Tom DeLay to kick around until at least November. He'll be the poster boy for the Culture of Corruption.



This goes way beyond Sugar Land and Texas. Now it will remain a shit-hot national issue.

Let's make hay, the sun is a-shinin'. :)

[jwirr]

32. Remember that is 64% of the repug vote.

[progressivebydesign]

33. They've called it with only 14% of the votes in.

Are the people there stupid or just corrupt?

[Mithras61]

34. The people here aren't all stupid...

this is a heavily 'puke district with over 1/3 voting to oust DeLay in the 'puke primary. It's looking like it's possible that the folks who voted against DeLay will vote for Lampson in November...

[Erika]

35. My Texas Dem friend voted for DeLay in the primary

He has the least chance in the general. He's dirty, dirty, dirty.

[Mithras61]

36. There may also be some cross-over voting going on...

lots of local Dems want to see DeLay in the general election. They think that Lampson can shred DeLay and that it'll help Dems nationally to have him in the spotlight because he's so dirty with corporate corruption...

[Lasher]

40. Wonder how much news coverage this crossover voting will get?

I'll bet the corporate news media will just play this as a win for The Hamper, and not mention the crossover voters. Guess we'll see.

[Mithras61]

42. Well, I can't say for SURE, but...

in the Governor's race, Ft. Bend Dems posted 6,172 votes, and Ft. Bend 'pukes posted 22,129.

Bugman only got 10,887 votes in Ft. Bend, and Rick Perry got 18,712 for governor...

I'm not an analyst, but it looks to me like Bugman's in trouble...

[Blue_State_Elitist]

84. Crossover voting generally isn't a major factor.

:(

[Lone_Star_Dem]

74. I have a Dem friend there that did the same thing

I thought it was an interesting strategic move on her part.

[KansDem]

77. Maybe his first cousin works for the local media?

I mean, it's worked before...

[Up2Late]

44. From Reuters too: Embattled U.S. Rep. DeLay wins Texas primary

(I think this is the definition of "Arrogant Prick":
"...DeLay skipped his election night party to attend a fund-raiser in Washington put on by lobbyists.")

Embattled U.S. Rep. DeLay wins Texas primary

Wed Mar 8, 2006 12:59 AM ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay won handily in the Republican primary for his congressional seat on Tuesday, taking 61 percent of the votes against three opponents. The race had been seen as a barometer of his political strength since he resigned as House majority leader following indictment in Texas on campaign finance charges and his friend lobbyist Jack Abramoff was indicted in a Washington corruption scandal.

DeLay skipped his election night party to attend a fund-raiser in Washington put on by lobbyists.

With 86 percent of the votes counted, DeLay led his closest opponent Tom Campbell by 61 percent to 30 percent. In a statement, DeLay said voters in his Houston area district had rejected the "politics of personal destruction" to support him.

It was the first time since he joined Congress 22 years ago that DeLay has had serious opposition in the primary. He will face Democrat Nick Lampson, who was unopposed in his party's primary, in the November general election.

(more at link below)

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=11457845&src=rss/domesticNews>

[merwin]

56. skipped his election night party to attend a fund-raiser by lobbyists.

Unfuckingbelievable.

[WatchWhatISay]

45. That's great

Delay still has a long way to fall by November. His opponents might cause some to beleive that the Repugs had cleaned up their act.

Sit back and watch the show (but send his opponent,Lampson,money as often as you can. http://www.lampson.com/

[Lasher]

46. I think TX-22 looks like a steam shovel

What do you think it looks like?

Elbridge Gerry, a former governor of Massachusetts, was criticized because his party's 1812 redistricting resulted in one voting district that looked like a salamander. Thence the term, gerrymander. Maybe we need a new term. Hampershovel? Roachkillerbackhoe?

[Vektor]

48. Embattled US Rep. DeLay wins Texas primary...

Un-be-fucking-lievable!

Flat out fraud, or are this many people REALLY this corrupt and stupid?

It seems highly unlikely this could have happened.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay won handily in the Republican primary for his congressional seat on Tuesday, taking 61 percent of the votes against three opponents.

The race had been seen as a barometer of his political strength since he resigned as House majority leader following indictment in Texas on campaign finance charges and his friend lobbyist Jack Abramoff was indicted in a Washington corruption scandal.

DeLay skipped his election night party to attend a fund-raiser in Washington put on by lobbyists.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060308/pl_nm/texas_dc

[xultar]

49. I'll take STOOPID Vektor for $500

[Vektor]

50. Hmmm...I think there's an element of that for sure...

with a splash of Diebold thrown in...

[SoCalDem]

51. Maybe Cheney will take him hunting ..to celebrate

just sayin'

[xultar]

52. One could only wish.

[jmowreader]

80. Actually, this is good

Consider: of all the candidates the Republicans fielded in this election, only Tom DeLay is under indictment. Only Tom DeLay is connected to Jack Abramoff.

Assuming that our side can keep the indictment/Abramoff/corruption meme going, we can keep DeLay so much on the defensive that he can't attack. DeLay can only win if he attacks, and if the attacks hurt us worse than ours hurt him.

Besides, imagine the shit he could stir up as a lame duck if he was in that status for ten months, not two.

[moondust]

53. Corruption? No problem.

The Bug Man is just a chip off the old Texas bloc.

[0007]

54. Argh!

Who are these people?

[salin]

55. first time in 22 years he has had "any real competition" in a primary

says the article. I would say that the 30% are potential swing voters in the fall - and the 60% are so embattled and emboldened by faux, rush, hannity, etc that they really believe the charges against delay are not real ... in short - they are delusional and the rightwing media noise machine works very, very hard to keep them that way.

I would be interested to know about turnout and how it compares to 04 and 02.

[onenote]

57. the primary vote is indicative of nothing

around 33,000 votes were cast in the primary,of which around 20,000 went for Delay. In 2004, in his district, there were over 270,000 votes cast (Delay got 150,000). Voters in the primary are going to be the most hardcore members of the party (and a few hardcore dems who might have voted for Delay to help ensure that he was the nominee). Anyway, it doesn't really say a thing about what will happen in November.

onenote

[rodeodance]

58. update this morning says he will run against a "well-funded Democrat "

By WENDY BENJAMINSON, Associated Press Writer 18 minutes ago

HOUSTON - In his first election since he was indicted and forced to step aside as majority leader, Rep.
Tom DeLay held off three challengers to keep the Republican nomination to the U.S. House. Now he faces what many consider the real contest — a general election fight against an organized, well-funded Democrat with a score to settle.

[gkhouston]

71. not just 'a well-funded Democrat' but a former Congressman

with local name recognition who's currently leading in the polls by about 20 points.

[S_B_Jackson]

63. No one should make too much of the low turnout either...

The race that would have drawn the voters in - the Governor's race - was a non-issue because Carole McClellan Keeton Rylander Strayhorn chose to go the independent route instead of taking on Governor Goodhair in the Rethug primary.

The weather was also a factor yesterday - it sucked. In the low to mid 60s, clammy-damp with fog/mist all day long. AND most of the public schools systems were on spring break which changes things somewhat as well...with the schools closed the balloting locations changed, many to the local Justice-of-the-Peace annexes, and many voters were either caring for their children or were out-of-town doing something with their families.

My concern is that Lampson's too nice for his own (and our good)...I've watched the Bugman for the whole of his political career and he's a vicious little rat and no dirty trick is too low for him...and he has the power of incumbency (& BBV) working on his behalf

[liberal N proud]

59. And to Diebold goes the spoils

[BooScout]

60. This is proof....

That American Voters just don't give a shit. They'll elect that nastiest, vilest human being and not bat an eye. Totally disgusting.

[Bridget Burke]

62. This is proof that Republican voters don't give a shit.

This was the Primary--not a General election.

[Ganja Ninja]

65. If Delay wins in November and is found guilty, the people ...

of Sugarland should just have to go without representation. If you're this obstinate that you'll vote for someone under indictment then you don't deserve representation when he's hauled off in handcuffs.

[superconnected]

66. Well, we've certianly seen how Republicans love their crooks.

I'm sure they're all turning a blind eye.

At least this texas candidate isn't a mass murderer like the prez they sent us.

[Tempest]

68. Everyone, everyone. You're missing something

Texas has an open primary.

Democrats went out and voted for DeLay to make sure he won.

Now the gloves are off and DeLay will wish he lost by the time he gets done taking a pounding in the media.

[librechik]

70. hope you are right--sounds smarter than the average dem, tho

no offense! I'm one too!

I would have tried to shame him early on and see him not even make the docket.

That's just me.

[PATRICK]

79. Have to have evidence

of crossovers since it IS unlike most democratic voters. The GOP on the other hand, make open and organized crossover drives. Did anyone even make a peep about doing this in Texas? Dems tend to be instinctively honest, the GOP instinctively nasty. That latter statement needs proofs to, but who has time to render thousands of examples proving it?

[Barrett808]

75. We did the same thing in WA state, with wingnut Ellen Craswell

She was unelectable and soldily trounced in the gubernatorial election several years ago.

[ImNotBuying]

69. Amazing

You just have to shake your head and wonder. Hopefully the whole state isn't drinking the same koolaid, but I have my doubts. My faith in humanity just went down another peg.

[HuffleClaw]

81. how people can happily support this guy is beyond me.

but i suppose this speaks to the overall 'ethics' of republicans?