Speaking of Disrespecting Primaries...

...enter Tom DeLay.

The indicted Congressman won his primary back in March for another term in the House. He then abruptly resigned the seat, and tried to get off the ballot by claiming he had moved to another state. It was pretty clear that he was only running in the primary to raise money that he could then shift to his legal defense fund, ripping off his supporters in the process. This he promptly did.

Well, Texas Democrats sued, saying that the winner of the Republican primary can't just dump out of the race in the way that DeLay proposed. And today they won:

Federal District Court Judge Sam Sparks just ruled in favor of Texas Democrats who sought an injunction to prevent Republicans in Texas Congressional District 22 from replacing Tom DeLay on the congressional ballot.

Texas Democrats argued that the U.S. Constitution, not State law, defines eligibility to serve in the U.S. Congress. Judge Sparks agreed.

This is kind of hilarious. TX-22 does not have a Republican candidate at the moment. DeLay could come back, but of course, he's DeLay, which doesn't bode well for his chances in a general election. The Democrats have a former US Congressman named Nick Lampson running in this district. He's come up with some really great, fresh TV ads. But at this point, he might not need them if he's running unopposed. Or against a guy who's already resigned the seat and moved out of the state.