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Democrat Nick Lampson has been in campaign attack mode for months, beating U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay for nearly every statement, campaign finance report or vote made.

Despite DeLay's considerable political problems this year - a felony money-laundering indictment, close ties to a lobbyist who has come to personify political corruption, his resignation of his House leadership position and a four-way primary that cost him nearly $2 million to win - he comes out of Tuesday's primary with a 2-to-1 victory margin in a district that, while less Republican than it once was, is still a solid GOP stronghold.

Aware of that political math, Lampson said he called to congratulate DeLay challengers Tom Campbell, Mike Fjetland and Pat Baig for having the "courage to put your name on the ballot against Tom DeLay in a Republican primary" and asked their supporters to vote for him.

Campbell said after conceding the race that DeLay's win was not a strong victory. "It's a victory but he needs to hold us all together in order to be victorious in November," he said.

He said Lampson has a good chance of beating DeLay unless "he's willing to acknowledge he's made mistakes and he will work with the entire community and be less concerned with the Republican power and more concerned with Republican priorities."

Lampson, 61, has family ties in Fort Bend County in the western part of the district and a political career in the eastern part of the district. He served as Jefferson County tax assessor and served four terms in Congress representing a district that included parts of Houston, Galveston and Beaumont.

Lampson's primary-night speech briefly touched on the men's policy differences, but then zeroed in on the scandals, signaling the theme of the coming campaign.

National Democrats have embraced Lampson as the best hope to unseat DeLay in his 22 years on Capitol Hill. While that has helped Lampson raise $2 million, it has also allowed the DeLay campaign to chime in about how Hollywood celebrities not politically popular in southeast Texas are trying to buy the race. Federal election laws limit contributions to $2,000.

In his victory statement, DeLay said "liberal activists" like Barbra Streisand, financier George Soros and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi "all have a dog in this fight, and his name is Nick Lampson."

While DeLay was able to avoid hard questions about his political troubles in the primary, he will not be able to stick to friendly forums in the general election, said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

He said he will have to face not only Lampson and a possible independent challenge from former Republican congressman Steve Stockman but the local and national media.

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