Nick Lampson in Time magazine

On Principles & Values: Elected as ‘scandal baby’ in 2006, lost GOP district in 2008

There’s nothing quite like an incumbent’s predilection for corruption, bribery or sleazy sex for helping an underdog win a congressional seat. And there was plenty of muck to exploit in the 2006 midterm elections, when a raft of Republican scandals helpe more than a dozen Democrats get elected in districts thought to be safely Republican.

But can they stay there? This year Republicans have pegged as top targets two “scandal babies” who defeated the most prominently shamed Republicans of 2006. Tim Mahoney, Representative from Florida’s 16th Congressional District, holds the seat once occupied by Mark Foley, who resigned after revelations about his sexually explicit e-mails to House pages became public. Nick Lampson of Texas’ 22nd District succeeded Tom DeLay, the Republican majority leader brought low by his connections to shady lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Mahoney and Lampson “have been labeled kind of a pair of accidental Congressmen,” says one analyst.

Source: Will Schulz in Time Magazine. “GOP Targets ‘Scandal Babies’” Jul 8, 2008

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