7/10/2006 Houston --
Tom DeLay said Monday
he would wait until an appeals court rules to decide whether he will actively
run for the congressional seat he resigned from last month.
The former House
majority leader has been forced to consider the possibility since Thursday, when
a federal judge ruled that DeLay's name must remain on the November ballot in
Texas even if he doesn't want to run. DeLay told Fox News he wants to see if the
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks'
decision that Republicans cannot replace DeLay on the ballot with another
nominee.
"I think they're
going to make the right decision and the Republican party will replace me with a
good candidate," he told the network.
DeLay, who is awaiting
trial on Texas charges of money laundering and conspiracy in a campaign finance
case, resigned from Congress on June 9.
GOP leaders argued that state elections laws allowed them to replace DeLay, who won his primary election in March, on the ballot because he no longer lives in Texas.
Democrats sued to keep DeLay's name on the ballot and legal troubles on the minds of voters. Sparks ruled that there was no conclusive evidence whether DeLay, who still has a home in the Houston area, would be an inhabitant of Texas on Election Day on Nov. 7.
DeLay had told a
crowd of supporters in Sugar Land on Friday that if he's "forced to be on the
ballot, well, they may get exactly what they want."
(Contribute by AP)
