Previously, Tom DeLay claimed that House Speaker Dennis Hastert would be coming to town for a fundraiser for Shelley Sekula Gibbs. Apparently, they can read poll numbers in the Gibbs camp, because Hastert has now been cordially uninvited to visit.
Meanwhile, in another sign that the Foley scandal is taking its toll on Republican House leaders, Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs, the GOP write-in candidate in the race to replace DeLay, has decided not to accept Hastert’s offer to travel to Texas and help her raise money for her race against former Rep. Nick Lampson (D).
“She decided it was best to wait until after the [Foley] investigation is complete,” Sekula Gibbs campaign spokeswoman Lisa Dimond said Thursday.
Just last Sunday at a campaign appearance in Missouri City, Sekula Gibbs proudly told supporters that Hastert would be traveling to the district to help her raise some badly needed funds.
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Sekula Gibbs, who didn’t get into the race until late August, needs to catch up if she is to have a chance to win as a write-in. According to Sekula Gibbs, Majority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) is scheduled to raise money for her in Houston on Oct. 18 (Vice President Cheney hosted a fundraiser for her in downtown Houston on Wednesday).
Yes, that Roy Blunt. This is sort of like disavowing Clyde Barrow while embracing Willie Sutton. But I suppose in the circle of Republican electoral politics it counts as progress.