Here's today's run-down of the Congressional races:

GOP Releases Excerpt From The Kentucky Voice Recorder
The Kentucky voice-recorder saga -- involving a criminal complaint by the NRSC that the campaign of Dem Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford allegedly erased content from a voice recorder they secretly planted at his podium -- just keeps getting weirder. The NRSC has released this piece of audio recovered from the recorder after its return, of what appears to be an angry Lunsford telling his staffers not to give the recorder back:

This has got to be one of the most bizarre allegations of a dirty trick ever: That a campaign secretly planted a bug on an opposing candidate, then complained when the bug was not initially returned and may have been erased.

Murtha's Opponent Blasts Him On Racist/Redneck Comments
Check out this new ad from William Russell, the GOP candidate against Jack Murtha, hammering Murtha for referring to his western Pennsylvania constituents as rednecks and racists:

Murtha is usually a safe bet for re-election, but this gaffe may have landed him in serious trouble. A recent Susquehanna poll shows Murtha just edging out Russell 46%-41%. A fun part of this ad is its use of a computer interface to show videos of Murtha -- as if to say that the people of western Pennsylvania do in fact know how to read and use a computer.

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National GOP Pulls Out Of Colorado Senate Race
A national GOP source has confirmed to Election Central that the NRSC is pulling out of the Colorado Senate race, where GOP candidate Bob Schaffer has been trailing in the polls for this Republican-held seat. With this seat now effectively ceded to the Democrats, the Dems are one step closer to 60 Senate seats.

Dems Accuse Republican Of Committing Voter Fraud In New Ad
This new DCCC turns the current allegations from Republicans about ACORN voter fraud right back at them, by directly accusing the Republican candidate against Rep. NIck Lampson (D-TX) of having personally committed voter fraud:

"John McCain says voter fraud may be destroying the fabric of democracy," the announcer says, setting up a line of attack in a district that McCain should carry handily. "And in Houston, Pete Olson is running for Congress while a prosecutor in Virginia investigates him for voter fraud back East!"

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Readers with long memories might remember Texas Republican Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who briefly served as Tom DeLay's successor after she'd won the special election to succeed him but simultaneously lost for the full term. Sekula-Gibbs' brief tenure in the House was marked by the mass resignation of DeLay's former staffers, who quit rather than work for her for two months.

Well, we won't have Shelley to kick around anymore. Sekula-Gibbs was again running for the seat, hoping for a rematch with incumbent Democrat Nick Lampson. But in tonight's Texas primary runoffs, she lost 68%-32% to Pete Olson, a former aide to Sen. John Cornyn.

And by the way, be on the lookout for this one being a key race this Fall, perhaps the best chance the GOP has to take a seat away from the Dems — it went 64%-35% for President Bush in 2004, and went Democratic in 2006 due mostly to the bizarre circumstances of Tom DeLay's resignation.

The most endangered Democrat in Congress may soon be facing a Republican challenger. Representative Nick Lampson picked up a seat for the Democrats last year in Tom DeLay's hardcore Republican district — with Lampson winning against a write-in candidate in a bizarre race marked by legal wrangling and DeLay's resignation. So suffice it to say that his Texas seat is anything but safe.

Now he may be challenged by a potentially formidable candidate: Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace, who just announced that he won't seek reelection as Mayor. According to Roll Call, Wallace will announce his plans for the race in the next 60 days. Says Wallace: "I feel I could do a good job in representing the people of the 22nd district." Given the tenuousness of Lampson's hold on the seat, he perhaps should be worried.

Interesting footnote: Wallace is helping raise money for Rudy Giuliani's Presidential campaign — even though he describes himself as "hard right wing" on social issues.

It isn't easy to find a ratings change favoring the GOP these days, but here's one: Charlie Cook has just changed his rating of the race for Tom DeLay's seat between Dem Nick Lampson and GOP write-in candidate "Leans Democratic" to "Toss Up." This contest is a strange one, to say the least. A recent poll found the race to be tighter than expected, with 36% for Lampson and 28% for Sekula-Gibbs. But it's impossible to gague the poll's accurate, because Sekula-Gibbs' name won't be on the ballot and voters might be confused by the write-in wrinkle. On the other hand, the poll also found that 52% knew of the write-in requirement and know how to handle it. We'll find out soon enough.

The NRCC isn't investing any serious money in the race for Tom DeLay's seat between Dem Nick Lampson and GOP write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs. "National Republicans were supposed to invest $3 million to $4 million to help Sekula-Gibbs," reports the Associated Press. "So far, however, she's received just $134,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee." Lampson had $2.2 million as of June 30th. Meanwhile, other GOP House candidates are swimming in cash: The NRCC yesterday dumped a staggering $9.3 million into a bunch of other races. Reader DK, guestblogging over at TPM, has the breakdown of NRCC spending here.

The NRCC isn't investing any serious money in the race between Dem Nick Lampson and GOP write-in candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs for the seat of outgoing Rep. Tom DeLay. "National Republicans were supposed to invest $3 million to $4 million to help Sekula-Gibbs," reports the Associated Press. "So far, however, she's received just $134,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee." Meanwhile, the NRCC yesterday dumped a staggering $9.3 million into a bunch of other House races. Reader DK has the breakdown over at TPM.

Things are getting more and more chaotic in the race for the seat of outgoing Rep. Tom DeLay. Today Democratic congressional candidate Nick Lampson announced that he won’t be running in the special election to replace DeLay for the remainder of his term. As you may recall, the special election will be held as the same day as the actual election -- Nov. 7 -- for who gets the seat for a full two-year term. So if Lampson wins the general election, someone else will serve out DeLay's term.

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The confusion continues in the race to replace outgoing Rep. Tom DeLay: GOP Governor Rick Perry has called a special election to fill DeLay's empty seat from November to January. TPM muckraker's Paul Kiel charts the byzantine ramifications of the move.

Mayor David Wallace of Sugar Land -- which is not a cheesy nightclub but a city in Texas -- has just announced that, contrary to plan, he's dropping out of the race for the Congressional seat being vacated by outgoing Rep. Tom DeLay. Last week Wallace threw the Texas GOP into disarray by declaring that he'd run as a write-in candidate. He did this despite the fact that the Texas Republicans had selected Shelley Sekula-Gibb as their candidate, as part of a process Wallace derided as "something that may have worked in Moscow." But since making his vow to stand firm against the party bosses, however, he's had a sudden change of heart, and now appears to have soured on making the race.

Over at TPM muckraker, Paul Kiel has a rundown on the chaos afflicting the Texas GOP in the wake of Tom DeLay's exit.

Remember that scheme hatched by Texas Republicans in which Tom DeLay would support a write-in candidate for his own seat, thus avoiding having to run himself?

It's awfully clever, no question. But it looks like the ruse has just hit a big snag -- there are now two candidates who want to be written in, which could mean a split GOP vote and a more likely victory for Dem challenger Nick Lampson.

It looks like it: Tom DeLay, who lost his bid to take his name off the ballot, is now mulling steppping aside and supporting a write-in candidate. TPM muckraker's Paul Kiel has the details.

Just in: Texas Republicans will appeal today's ruling.

Ladies and gentlemen, he’s back! Just when you thought the curtain had finally dropped on the long and prolific career of former Representative and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) with his June resignation, a federal judge ruled today that he must remain on the November ballot as the Republican nominee in Texas’ 22^nd District.

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Today’s Supreme Court decision in the matter of League of United Latin American Citizens, et al. v. Perry, et al. could potentially either have a big impact in Texas this year, or could have none if it does not take effect until the next round of elections.

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Former US Representative Tom Delay, who had been served with a subpoena on Friday, testified in federal court today in the trial over replacing him on the ballot in the 22nd Congressional District. This morning, he endured extensive questioning from both sides and from US District Court Judge Sam Sparks. The hearing revolves around two issues. The first is the distinction between being declared ineligible and withdrawing from the election (if a candidate is declared ineligible, he or she can be replaced by the party, if the candidate withdraws, he or she cannot be removed from the ballot.) The second issue is whether the attempt to remove Delay’s name is unconstitutional based on when exactly Delay has to be a resident of the district. (The Democrats argue that according to the Constitution, residency can only be established after election, if you are on the ballot, you are one, and can only be determined to be a resident once you are elected)

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In an update on the legal drama in Texas, after the Texas Democratic Party succeeded in having a temporary restraining order imposed on the Texas Republican Party, the matter has been moved out of state court and into federal court. The case will now be heard on June 26th. The federal judge, Sam Sparks, has declined to extend the restraining order through Monday.

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In a 22-minute speech from the House floor, Tom Delay went out swinging. Delay defended his style of partisan politics, saying that the “self-styled statesman who elevates compromise to a first-principle” is responsible for “degrad[ing] our public debate,” The NY Times also picks up a quote by Delay claiming his continued pride in the “The K Street project and the K Street strategy.” In spite of his intentions to move to Virginia in order to facilitate the removal of his name from the ballot in Texas, a court battle is unfolding which could keep his name there in November.