Even as votes are still being counted in close races around the country, speculation on reforms to counter the high-cost, special-interest dominated election process is being offered up. Writers at both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Winston-Salem Journal cite the Voters First Pledge, its principles and signers, as showing the way forward.

David Donnelly, our national campaigns director, writes over at MyDD about visiting his son's class to talk about elections - and facing the difference between "classroom democracy" and the real power-brokering in Washington.

He writes:

The Houston Chronicle reports today that Tom DeLay continues to be in “legal limbo” that could damage him come the November elections. 

Congressional Quarterly agrees with our take.

I know Rick wrote about this earlier, but I wanted to add my two cents...

In 2004, in the general election, DeLay received 55% of the vote. Yesterday, in a low turnout, only-the-faithful-voting primary election, he got 62%, only slightly better than where he was among all voters, Democrats included, a year and a half ago.

DeLay was able to secure the GOP nod in TX-22 (he received 62% of the vote) but not by the margin expected from a sitting incumbent in a Republican leaning district. DeLay remains as vulnerable as people have been saying he is. Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said:

"DeLay will have to capture two-thirds of the vote in order to claim he's out of trouble."

You can get election returns as they are reported at the Texas Secretary of State's website.

For TX-22 GOP primary, go here.

For TX-28 Democratic primary, go here.

Here is Bloomberg with a round up on DeLay's primary race today, in which he confronts three Republican challengers. Stay tuned--we'll update as the news rolls in.

DeLay's Republican base is a little uneasy the night before the primary...according to the Washington Post.

I don't think there is any doubt that DeLay will win the primary. The big question is if he can retain his seat come this November.

Here's the endorsement.