The AP does a nice job of reminding people why Tom Delay could be facing his hardest political battle yet:

WASHINGTON – Rep. Tom DeLay, whose association with lobbyist Jack Abramoff has left him politically vulnerable, is spending Texas’ primary night Tuesday at a fundraiser hosted by two Washington lobbyists.

DeLay faces three opponents in the Republican primary. For the first time in the 22 years he’s held office, he is up against a serious challenge after being forced out of his job as House majority leader amid corruption and campaign finance scandals.

The fundraiser is being held by lobbyists Bill Paxon and Susan Molinari, both former members of Congress from New York. The event will raise money for DeLay’s re-election campaign

I am kind of torn on Delay’s primary challenge today. He is expected to win and in a way I think that is a good thing.

Now before you think I have lost it let me explain in a little more detail. Delay winning today will put him up against a Democrat for the final battle to control the Texas district. With Tom Delay still facing trial on his charges and Texas and with indictments still possible from the Abramoff deal, chances are his political future is very dim.

If Delay is the one facing a Democrat in November and he either gets convicted by Ronnie Earle or gets indicted by the feds then his chances of winning become even less. As matter of fact if he gets convicted he will have to drop out of the race leaving the GOP scrambling to find a replacement.

So basically Delay is a heavy liability to the GOP in Texas right now and his win today will increase that liability ten-fold. Of course a defeat today would not be all that bad either, but that is not very likely considering Tom’s district is built by his own definitions.