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By Doug Miller / 11 News
HOUSTON -- Six weeks before Election Day, indictments are pending in connection with a political action committee that helped put Republicans in control of the Texas Legislature. While the politician most closely associated with that PAC is Sugar Land Congressman Tom DeLay, a long list of Texas lawmakers received campaign money from that group. Nonetheless, the political impact of this scandal seems small in races for the state legislature.
Martha Wong is a state representative and a tireless campaigner.
"Martha Wong, how are you?" She smiles at a homeowner.
Now there's a new twist to this Republican's campaign. Austin's District Attorney sought and got indictments in connection with a political action committee that spread campaign cash around state legislature candidates.
"There was $10,000 that she received in September of 2002," says Jim Dougherty who is running against Wong.
The Democratic challenger points out she received a lot of money from the political action committee at the center of the indictments.
"Well, I don't have any reason to believe that she knew it was corporate money," Dougherty says. "If she did, or perhaps even if she didn't, if it appears it clearly is corporate money I think it ought to be divested."
But Wong counters, "I was at a civic club meeting the other night. Nobody brought it up. As we block walk, no one's brought it up. I think they see it as an Austin issue."
Republicans are saying the idictments were motivated by politics. But political analysts say the indictments are unlikely to have any political impact on any of the Houston area lawmakers who accepted money from the political action committee involved.
KHOU political analyst Bob Stein says, "I think this is a season when most voters expect this to happen. If this was an off-election time, if it were in the primary season, I think it could get some traction on it. The indictments seem to be what I would call a kind of inside political story."
So while there may be a lot of noise about this scandal in Austin on the campaign trail in Houston, it's barely registering.
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