Delay Redux?

By MIKE ALLEN, HILARY HYLTON
Sunday, Jul. 9, 2006

Could Tom DeLay be headed back to the House? A source close to the ex-Congressman tells TIME that DeLay is planning an aggressive campaign to retake the House seat he quit in June if an appeals court lets stand a ruling by a federal judge last week that his name must stay on November's ballot--even though he has moved to Virginia. "If it isn't overturned, Katy bar the door!" says a G.O.P. official. "Guess he'll have to fire up the engines on the campaign and let 'er rip." DeLay, awaiting trial for money laundering, never intended to fade away. He plans to give paid speeches and has signed a deal to have his bio penned by best-selling author Stephen Mansfield. But to run, DeLay would have to raise money fast: his campaign fund has well under $1 million left. At least he knows his would-be opponent well: ex-Congressman Nick Lampson's original district was eliminated in a redistricting engineered by DeLay.