Updated
Fox News Channel’s Jim Angle is just now reporting that Rep. Tom Delay is withdrawing from his congressional race. It’s unclear if he will finish out the rest of this term and then step down or if he will step down now.
The speculation is that Rep. Delay believes he is unable to win reelection and has determined it is best to withdraw from his campaign.
There may be a press conference tomorrow. More information as it comes in.
Michelle Malkin links to a Time magazine article with more information:
Rep. Tom DeLay, whose iron hold on the House Republicans melted as a lobbying corruption scandal engulfed the Capitol, told TIME that he will not seek reelection and will leave Congress within months. Taking defiant swipes at “the left” and the press, he said he feels “liberated” and vowed to pursue an aggressive speaking and organizing campaign aimed at promoting foster care, Republican candidates and a closer connection between religion and government.
“I’m going to announce tomorrow that I’m not running for reelection and that I’m going to leave Congress,” DeLay, who turns 59 on Saturday, said during a 90-minute interview on Monday. “I’m very much at peace with it.” He notified President Bush in the afternoon. DeLay and his wife, Christine, said they had been prepared to fight, but that he decided last Wednesday, after months of prayer and contemplation, to spare his suburban Houston district the mudfest to come. “This had become a referendum on me,” he said. “So it’s better for me to step aside and let it be a referendum on ideas, Republican values and what’s important for this district.”
Tom Delay gave an interview at the Galveston County Daily News:
Under constant fire from Democrats, indicted on state charges and embroiled in a federal investigation, Tom DeLay said Monday he would retire from the U.S. House of Representatives and move to the Washington, D.C., area, abandoning the office he has held since 1984.
In exclusive interviews Monday with The Galveston County Daily News and Time magazine, the 11-term Republican congressman from Sugar Land said his decision was best for his district and based on troubling internal polling numbers.
“It is obvious that this district is very polarized,” said DeLay, whose district includes part of Galveston County.
“It was obvious to me that the 22nd District deserved more than an election that was turning into a referendum on me rather than what was important to the district.”
DeLay said he and his staff scrutinized internal polls in December and again after the March GOP primary and didn’t like what they saw.
Those polls showed him beating Democrat Nick Lampson in the general election but in a race that would be too close for comfort, DeLay said.
“Luckily there were more people that loved me than hated me,” said DeLay. “Even though I thought I could win, it was a little too risky.”
Time has an Q&A with Delay.
Update: Fox News confirms that Delay will step down from congress in late spring or early summer.
Update II: The Political Pitbull has the video of Chris Matthews and Time Mag’s Mike Allen discussing the breaking story on Tucker Carlson’s show.
Others blogging:
Red State
Riehl World View
Bruce Armstrong
Pardon My English
Captain’s Quarters
Ankle Biting Pundits
Ace of Spades HQ
Betsy Newmark
can he be replaced by another republican on the ticket after he already won the primary?
it does not appear so.
If you’d been watching a real cable news channel instead of the laughable FOX News Channel – or, as we call it nowadays, Ailes Jazeera – you would’ve been able to post about this far earlier than you did…
Ah! A happy indicator that PERHAPS the True Republicans are taking their party back! OR PERHAPS the country club set of Sugar Land,TX can’t have a “member” as a defense witness in a murder trial. “Prayerfully” and “foster care”, my ASS!
What the hell are you blithering about?
mcGeehee, “duh! Me bush-bot! Me no know!” Kidan-Boulis
MacGehee, I think what bryan is saying is that he doesn’t know either. (what he’s talking about)
jo, Boulis was in DeLay’s office with his business partners. His business partners were Kidan and Abramoff. Kidan had hired three Gambino “associates” as “caterers”. These “caterers” have since been indicted in Bouli’s murder. Before Boulis was murdered, Boulis accused Kidan of ripping him off. There is no proof that the three Gambino family associates ever catered anything. There is proof they got paid by Kidan for SOMETHING. etc.etc. (About as mysterious as a Matlock episode!)
can he be replaced by another republican on the ticket after he already won the primary?
Apparently he can by changing his residence, thereby making himself ineligible. According to Time, that is. Sneaky.
Who will the Texas State Republicans choose? How about Star Locke?
It’s a sad day. With this petty criminalization of bribery and influence peddling, the terrorists have won.
“petty criminalization of bribery and influence peddling”
I’m sorry joseph, what does that mean? Are you suggesting that the allegations against DeLay are criminalizing “petty bribery and influence peddling?”
bryanD, you’ve got a fanciful imagination. Could you enlighten us as to the basis of your implication that DeLay would somehow be a witness to this incident? Or are you just indicting by association?
wavemaker, UGH! (quickly ,in shorthand!) they takes boulis to DELAY’S office for buttering-up, pre-sun cruz sale. D’s AIDE berry then checks out the merchandise in the n. marianas. after the sale a campaign is waged from CAPITOL HILL to vilify boulis (which isn’t hard to do) including at least 2 speeches by NEY in the well of the HOUSE. why? to force boulis out. a doublecross. boulis and kidan have a fight in the sun cruz board room. kidan calls mafia friends. boulis ends up dead. A and k out of country. just like movies. DELAY calls A into his office. chews him out. don’t involve me. however DELAY in effect helped guarantee the paper (instead of real money) used to purchase initial sun cruz partnership (see AIDE berry above). real money from partnership post-purchase was used to pay hitmen. else where’s the $500,000 salary? (DIRTY LAUNDRY. oops) florida indicts shadow-caterers. florida closes sun cruz. indicts a & k. bush “never knew” A. B purges all photos contridicting this from Reflections Photography, inc…I might have transposed some incidents. All from memory. left alot out! IT’S EARLY
So the old bastard is resigning. He’ll fit in better back in the exterminating business (his old job) with the rats and cockroaches.
And how laughable that there are people here actually defending this thief and liar. You republicans are truly pathetic – party over patriotism.
What’s funny about BryanD’s blithering is that he apparently seems to think everybody (except a “Bush-bot”) reads the wacko-Left websites that were the only places I could find, with an Internet search, talking about his conspiracy theory.
No McGehee, the murder of Boulis happened (gangland style on his door step I believe), Kidan and (at least one of) the Gambino boys have been arrested and indicted. Now I wouldn’t go as far as Bryan, but you’ve really got to have your eyes closed to have missed this.
“So it’s better for me to step aside and let it be a referendum on ideas, Republican values and what’s important for this district.” — Tom DeLay
But, Tom, you’ve defiantly and forthrightly stood up for greed, selfishness, intolerance, and shortsightedness (that is, “Republican values”) and when have conservatives ever abandoned any corrupt Republican politician who remained true to The Cause?
But before you go, Tom, we liberals have a kiss for you. That’s right, conservatives, you’re going to see us kiss him,
we’re going to go on and kiss him
GOODBYE!!!!!!!
NAH NAH NAH NAH
NAH NAH NA-AH NAH
HEY HE-EY
GOODBYE!!!!
NAH NAH NAH NAH
NAH NAH NA-AH NAH
HEY HE-EY
GOODBYE!!!!
NAH NAH NAH NAH
NAH NAH NA-AH NAH
HEY HE-EY
GOODBYE!!!!
I think we just learned why Herman’s Head was cancelled.
OTOH, Delay’s better off gone.
Hmmm.
Why not? The Democrats did that with Toricelli in New Jersey.
Hmmmm.
And what exactly does this have to do with Delay?
Did Delay hire the killers? No.
Was Delay involved in the financial dealings? No.
The only thing that connects any of this to Delay is that Delay knows Abramoff, who is a Washington lobbyist connected with a multitude of politicians inside the Beltway.
So unless someone’s actually got something that ties Delay to any of this crap then all this is nothing more than the standard liberal smear by association.
Hmmmm.
bryanD, do you ever tire of being an asshat?
Interesting bryanD , conspiracy theories and murder for hire did not come to mind when Hillary and bill were knocking off people..
Hey Hermans , shortsightedness , greed ,selfishness, corruption .. you just described the Clinton administration !
virgo, get on your knees and keep going “hmmmmm” (that’s it!)….ed, history is a chain of conpiracies! Unless everything’s an accident! Conspiracy or Accidental: which view of history is most correct? Do things happen by themselves?
Virgo! Sorry I put you in the “ed position”! Reverse the attitudes I assigned above! (Sooo Sollee!) ED! GET YER ASS OVER HERE!
Sorry bryan but History is full of History , not conspiracy theories.. and everything is by design not accident..
So You get on Your knees and do whatever it is You do there..
Hey, our local paper (NYT-owned) has an editorial today accusing DeLay (without being specific) about coercing bribes…anybody seen any other outlets making this accusation? It’s the first I’ve heard of it.
No i have not and am not surprised .. they have to print something tom justify their lunatic fanatacism..
No and I must say I am not surprised , after all the New York Times in the modern era is in the business of creating news , not reporting news.