by TChris

Some Republicans who care about the image of their party think Tom DeLay must go. Concerns about DeLay's unethical behavior -- or, more importantly, the publicity surrounding it -- have led to "signs of restiveness" back home. A recent poll for The Houston Chronicle showed that nearly 40 percent of voters had a lesser opinion of DeLay than they had last year.

As one might expect, the Fort Bend County Republican chair (formerly the public relations director for Enron) doesn't think Democrats will benefit from DeLay's slipping support, because the district is so heavily Republican.

But with some Republican voters siphoned off to create new districts that added to the Republican majorities in both the Texas Legislature and Congress last year, and perhaps because of Mr. DeLay's slippage as well, he garnered 55 percent of the vote last year - 53 percent in Fort Bend County - a dropoff from his share in his original district in previous years and below President Bush's 2004 majority of 57 percent in Fort Bend County.

Conservative voters who won't support a Democrat may be inclined to oust DeLay in a Republican primary.