A lot of ink has gone into reporting the issues surrounding Congressman Tom DeLay from his indictments to the recent announcement that he is withdrawing from the race and will not finish his current term in office. A lot more ink will be needed to report on the blood-letting that is sure to follow Tom’s actual physical exit from his congressional seat.

There are a host of potential candidates hoping to throw their hat into a special election that will have to be called by Texas Governor Rick Perry. Now Perry says he won’t call a special election but that remains to be seen given the political pressure he is sure to fall under and the fact that he is opposed in the November general election. In the meantime, some are hoping that an appointment to the office will be forthcoming. Of course they are. If a replacement is named to fill Tom’s shoes, they will have the incumbent advantage when going into the general election.

But who is going to fill that slot if an appointment is made? The two names that keep popping up in political circles is that of Harris County County Judge Robert Eckels and Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace. Both have indicated an interest in the office, but Wallace is the only one that h as announced he will seek the position. Eckels is a respected leader in Harris County and has the most to lose because, if my memory serves me right, if he announces for another office he would automatically vacate the office he now holds. He has told reporters he and his family are debating where he could do the most good, be it locally on a county level or in Washington, D.C.

The candidates who opposed DeLay in the primary election feel they should get a shot at the slot, understandably so. And, there are a whole bunch of smaller players whose names keep surfacing.