Tom DeLay to Formally Withdraw from House Race
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James Joyner | Tuesday, August 8, 2006 |
Tom DeLay is planning to formally withdraw his candidacy for re-election, thus allowing for a write-in candidate.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay intends to withdraw as a candidate for Congress, a Republican strategist said Tuesday, a step that would allow the party to field a write-in candidate in hopes of holding his seat. The development came one day after Texas Republicans lost a court battle in their bid to replace DeLay on the November ballot.
Hmm. DeLay could have done this before all the court battles. Still, a write-in candidacy is fraught with peril, usually requiring a ridiculous amount of scrutiny as to how the names are written. If one writes in “Joe Blow” or “Josef Bloe” and the candidate’s name is “Joseph Bloe,” most jurisdictions will not count the vote. There’s a reason getting the party line on the ballot is so important.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Tom DeLay is planning to formally withdraw his candidacy for re-election, thus allowing for a write-in candidate.
That doesn't make sense; the party (or any other group) can field a write-in candidate whether or not he "formally" withdraws. And that's not even a "formality," since he'll still be on the ballot whether he withdraws or not.
Sounds like there's nothing to see here.
He _could_ have withdrawn earlier; in fact, common sense would have had him withdraw before he won his primary to _be_ the name on the ticket. But then he wouldn't have been able to raise months more campaign contributions, which could then be funneled into his legal defense fund. That's the _only_ reason he stayed in this long - to screw his own contributors. Nice guy.
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