This was… unexpected:
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), a former congressional staffer who was elected to the House in the Republican revolution of 1994, has told colleagues he will resign Tuesday because of an affair with a female aide, a House GOP official told POLITICO.
Souder has scheduled an announcement about his future for 10 a.m. today at his congressional office in Ft. Wayne.
Souder is married and has three children.
He informed Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) of his decision on Sunday, according to GOP sources.
Souder, as you’ll recall, squeaked out of his primary earlier this month with just 48% of the vote. Last cycle, he handily dispatched Dem Mike Montagano in a race many (SSP included) expected to be a lot closer. We’ll bring you details on any word of a special as soon as we have them.
UPDATE: The law:
Sec. 1. A special election shall be held in the following cases:
(3) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of United States Representative unless the vacancy occurs less than thirty (30) days before a general election.
Also, when Julia Carson’s death created a vacancy in IN-07 back in 2008, news accounts at the time said that the special election had to have been held within 60 days of the vacancy. Presumably that is the timetable we’ll be following here, but we will do some more research on this question. (James)
MORE UPDATE: Hoo boy, this is rich. Souder and his mistress actuallly made an anti-sex tape together: they appeared together in a video in favor of abstinence-only education.
A couple other interesting observations from the comments: prior to Andre Carson’s election, the last special election in Indiana was back in 1989 in this very district (numbered the 4th back then), where Democrat Jill Long won an upset to fill the vacancy left by Dan Coats (who got promoted to the Senate to fill the vacuum left by Dan Quayle). Long went on to get swept out by Souder in 1994, and as Jill Long Thompson mounted a very poor comeback in the 2008 gubernatorial race. (H/t IndianaProgressive.) Also, it turns out that state Sen. Marlin Stutzman, last seen acquitting himself well in the Senate primary against Coats, is from this district (he’s from tiny Howe, in LaGrange County). I wonder if he’d be interested in parlaying his newfound celebrity with the DeMint wing into another run for a promotion? (H/t izengabe.)
Finally, here’s some legal background from Indiana’s Secretary of State:
2) When will the special election be held?
Under Indiana Code 3-13-3-2, the circuit court clerk of the county where the U.S. Representative resided (in this case, Marion County) must certify that the vacancy has occurred, and file the certification with the Governor.
The Governor will then issue a writ of election that must specify the date of the special election (IC 3-10-8-3). There is no deadline specified by law for either the clerk’s certification to be filed or for the Governor’s writ to be issued.
However, the combination of deadlines set by state law for nominating candidates and absentee ballot voting makes it mathematically impossible for a special election to occur earlier than 60 days after a vacancy occurs in the office of U.S. Representative (See, for example, IC 3-13-1-7; 3-13-1-9; 3-13-1-20; 3-8-6-13; 3-8-7-15).
Just to clarify, this means that the “within 60 days” timeline that the Politico identified back in 2008 is incorrect.
Predicting that 2010 would be a boring, every incumbent win easily, “nothing to see here” election.
Whoops!!!!!!
http://www.swingstateproject.c…
I guess this is no longer a “sleeper” race.
we can at least contest this seat which stretches the already limited resources of the nrcc a bit further
It’s amazing to me that so many politicians still think they will get away with these affairs. I suppose that for every one who’s caught, five continue to get away with it, and that gives others hope.
Did this come to light when the female aide found out he didn’t really serve in Vietnam?
how did the tea-baggers do in the primary? does anyone here know?
Bob Thomas – is he one of the auto dealers who was against cash for clunkers?
Seems like he’d be an option for Rs to replace Souder.
Indiana’s 3rd Congressional district probably has changed less than any other in the state over the last few rounds of redistricting. A geographically compact square, it takes in the NW corner of the state, centered in Fort Wayne.
Let’s not kid ourselves — this is a really tough nut to crack for Democrats. Unlike some districts which have historically been conservative but Democratic (the South), or others that historically have been Republican but not very conservative (such as the Chicago or Philly ‘burbs), this area has been both quite conservative and Republican for over a century.
That said, it has sent Democrats to Congress, most notably Ed Rouch in the 1970s, and Jill Long Thompson in the early 1990s. Democrats can win there, if they are: 1) Seen as moderate enough, and 2) Perhaps more importantly, trusted as members tied into the local community (this was Montagano’s biggest problem last time, and perhaps Dr. Hayhurst’s biggest asset).
The key for any Democratic win, and one aspect of the district perhaps slowly changing in our direction, is Fort Wayne proper. The city itself has about 35-40% of the district’s population, and Dr. Hayhurst or any Democrat who wants to win the district has to come out of FW with a solid margin, because when you go elsewhere in the district, finding potential Democratic votes gets really hard. The two places any Democrat just gets slaughtered is Elkhart County (the parts that moved in Obama’s direction are largely in IN-02), and especially Kosciusko County, which in 2008 was Obama’s worst county in the state.
So, difficult, yes! Impossible, no! In 1989, Jill Long Thompson scored a stunning upset in a special election (to replace, of all people Dan Coats, who took Dan Quayle’s place in the Senate when Quayle became VP). She won primarily because the Republican party was bitterly divided over who should be their nominee. Maybe a somewhat similar type of chaos could put a Doctor in the House this fall!
I believe IN-03 is State Sen. Marlin Stutzman district.
I guess he would be the clear GOP frontrunner for this seat and could be as tough to beat as a pre-scandal Souder would have been.
Fuck. Your. Wife.
has gotten into the political water the last few days. First Kendrick Meek is in bed with a developer and got paid quite handsomely for it, then Richard Blumenthal lies out his ass about his military record, now Mark Souder has an affair with a staffer.
This has got to be one of the craziest 48-hour periods I’ve ever seen in politics.
Hayhurst is a good candidate and he’s running strong but the main thing that made this race somewhat competitive to begin with was Souder’s unpopularity.
My gut reaction is that if the race is generic Republican vs. Hayhurst, we lose, just because of the district’s partisan lean.
Now we have some kind of moral equivalance, roughly speaking. The talking heads will LOVE having multiple scoundrels to talk about today.
And Meek is actually the biggest winner of all, because his little possible-but-unclear scandal is less tasty than Blumenthal’s and Souder’s.
Over on Kos, as part of the post on this whole thing, is a video of one of Souder’s staffer’s interviewing him over the necessity of abstinence-only sex education. The rich part? It’s the very staffer he’s been having an affair with! Maybe he should have been advocating being faithful after one gets married, rather than celebate before one does!
But man oh man, he certainly does make up for the other deadbeats that constitute the Indiana House Republican delegation.
Just I was finding this article, and was here.
I wish give Souder my tribute :). We need more republicans like Souder.
For those of you who don’t know me, please don’t take this as me being “holier than thou”….
One of my closest friends got caught in an extra-marital affair, and it’s about destroyed him. I hate it not only for Souder, but more for his wife and kids. I also hate it for his former supporters, although I probably have little in common with them.
I’ve never cared for Souder’s politics, and I really don’t care to listen to him explain about his affair. His behavior has a certain level of hypocrisy, but most of us that are mortals have displayed hyporcrisy at some time in our lifes.
If I am reading this right, then the circuit court clerk where the representative resided would be Allen County, not Marion County which lies outside the district.
Conservative family members living in the district never cared for Souder. Not sure why exactly. Hypocrisy gives off bad vibes? They do like Stutzman though.
Stutzman won Kosciusko, Noble, Steuben, DeKalb, and LaGrange counties in the Senate primary. Respectable second in Allen County (population center) against Coats who used to represent this district and resided in Fort Wayne. I think Hayhurst would have to dominate Fort Wayne in order to remain competitive against Stutzman, who will sweep the rural areas of the district.
Of all the days I have to stay late at the office! This made my day. I don’t care if any of today’s primaries go my way, today is a good day. We have a great candidate, although I know it’s still and uphill battle but it’s still a chance. Honestly I don’t care about the special I am just glad Souder is gone.