Washington – Battered by months of ethics allegations, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has turned for re-election help to the White House, which is sending Vice President Dick Cheney next month to headline a fundraiser for him in Houston.
Cheney stumped for about 70 House candidates last year, and another dozen so far this year – mostly newcomers or veterans locked in uphill fights. But with 14 months before DeLay, R-Texas, faces voters in a district whose contours he personally approved, analysts see anxiety over the fate of a lawmaker widely seen as the most powerful majority leader in history.
“It would be such a disaster” for the GOP if DeLay loses, said Ross Baker, a congressional expert at Rutgers University, adding that the decision to send in Cheney looks like payback for DeLay, whose help was crucial on a number of close votes, including Medicare and a bankruptcy law overhaul. “I think what you see is a combination of gratitude and prudence.”
The House ethics committee is expected to open an investigation soon into DeLay’s travel and his ties with lobbyists.
In Texas, three lieutenants face charges of skirting state campaign law.
And this month, lobbyist Jack Abramoff – accused of bilking Indian casino clients and illicitly arranging lavish trips for DeLay and others – was charged in an unrelated scheme involving a Florida-based casino ship.
All deny wrongdoing.
Polls show DeLay’s support in the district slipping, after his closest race in 22 years, which resulted in a 55 percent win against an unknown with little cash. This time, Democrats vow to spend at least $5 million.
At the National Republican Congressional Committee, spokesman Carl Forti said DeLay isn’t in trouble but is planning for a costly fight.
“With Democrats getting ready to spend millions, he has to spend millions as well. The president and vice president are just huge draws,” he said.
Democrat Nick Lampson, DeLay’s likely opponent, took the visit as recognition of the traction he’s getting.
“This is awfully, awfully early,” said Lampson, a former four-term House member who lost his district last year after redistricting, and recently decided to challenge DeLay. “It’s got to be a recognition that he is at serious risk of losing his seat.”
Cheney aides declined to discuss the event, set for Sept. 16 at the Westin Galleria. Invitations have circulated among Houston-area Republicans.
Voters rarely oust a House leader.
In 1994, a year of huge Democratic setbacks, Speaker Tom Foley, D-Wash., became the first speaker defeated at the polls since 1860. A year earlier, President Clinton had helped him raise funds, but by all accounts, he hadn’t taken the threat seriously.
