JUDGE SAYS DELAY "WITHDREW" FROM RACE

This could be huge. If DeLay's name remains on the ballot for his Sugarland congressional seat, it could be a boon to Dem Nick Lampson.

A federal judge hearing a ballot dispute Monday involving former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay said he thinks that DeLay withdrew from the November election, indicating potential trouble for Republicans who want to name a replacement candidate.

"He is not going to participate in the election and he withdrew," said U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, who did not issue an official ruling after a daylong trial regarding DeLay's status as the GOP nominee for the 22nd Congressional District.

I never expected the Democrats to prevail in this, and they still might not. But the judge's statements give me a modicum of hope. Republican voters wanted Tom DeLay despite his "legal troubles," they gave him the primary win, and they ought to be stuck with him.

Tags: Tom DeLay