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Friday, September 29, 2006

FL-16: Foley Resigning! (headline updated)

Posted by DavidNYC

This banner is up on CNN right now:

Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida will not run for reelection amid questions about e-mails he sent to a former Capitol Hill page, Republican sources say.

More news as it breaks. Let's hope this is accurate.

UPDATE: ABC's blog is reporting the same:

Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) planned to resign today, hours after ABC questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former Congressional pages under the age of 18.

A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignation in a letter late this afternoon to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Hours earlier, ABC News had read excerpts of instant messages provided by former pages who said the congressman, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual organs and acts.

Check out that last graf. Wow.

UPDATE: So, what happens? Section 100.111(4)(a) of the Florida election code, courtesy Adam B.:

"In the event that death, resignation, withdrawal, removal, or any other cause or event should cause a party to have a vacancy in nomination which leaves no candidate for an office from such party, the Department of State shall notify the chair of the appropriate state, district, or county political party executive committee of such party; and, within 5 days, the chair shall call a meeting of his or her executive committee to consider designation of a nominee to fill the vacancy.

The name of any person so designated shall be submitted to the Department of State within 7 days after notice to the chair in order that the person designated may have his or her name on the ballot of the ensuing general election. If the name of the new nominee is submitted after the certification of results of the preceding primary election, however, the ballots shall not be changed and the former party nominee's name will appear on the ballot.

Any ballots cast for the former party nominee will be counted for the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee. If there is no opposition to the party nominee, the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee will be elected to office at the general election. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "district political party executive committee" means the members of the state executive committee of a political party from hose counties comprising the area involving a district office."

Posted at 03:12 PM in 2006 Elections - House, Florida | Technorati

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Comments

Unreal. It helps so much when Republicans give these seats away. I read your entry on Kos where there was speculation on the state of this race. Isn't this a slightly lean-Dem district anyway?

Posted by: Mark at September 29, 2006 03:36 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

David: what happens now? Does Foley's name stay on the ballot, does the GOP get to pick a replacement, what are our chances of a pickup?

Posted by: NYPopulist at September 29, 2006 03:40 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

This is all so sudden that it's kind of a whirl. This district is only R+2.4, so a pick-up is quite possible here--even moreso now that the local GOP is in disarray.

Posted by: James L. at September 29, 2006 04:03 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

The money Trail
525,000 to the NRCC from Foley. I think needy and exploited Children could use that money.

Posted by: Democraticavenger at September 29, 2006 04:21 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

This is sad in that it feeds unscientific and patently FALSE religious right sterotypes linking homosexuality and pederasty. The material pasted above does not claim the pages involved were boys, but they were, yes?

Hope he gets the help he needs. And thank you Mark for imploding before the November elections, rather than after, so we can add your district to the Democratic takeovers this fall.

Posted by: walja at September 29, 2006 05:47 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Were 1/5 of the way their. With this seat TX-22, and AZ-08 where the GOP has essentially ceded the seats. 12 is a heckuva lot easier than 15

Posted by: safi at September 30, 2006 03:16 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment