Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) found himself spotlighted on Fox News, caught in an affair with a part-time staffer. Rather than become fodder for the Washington scandal grinder, he has decided to resign almost immediately.
Souder’s name has not been one that comes up frequently when broadcast issues are before the House. But he does serve on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which occasionally delves into broadcast matters, most recently looking at Arbitron’s PPM service.
It is up to Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) of Indiana to determine if a special election will be held to fill out the remainder of Souder’s term. Some observers are already speculating that Daniels will simply leave the seat open until the election.
As for getting a replacement for him in the general election, it’s already too late for the primaries – Souder has survived with less than 50% of the vote against two intramural challengers, according to CQ Politics. The responsibility for replacing him rests with local precinct chairs in Souder’s district.
RBR-TVBR observation: It does not look like this is one of those surprise seat openings that leads to an advertising windfall. Since voters will not be involved in the process of selecting a replacement for Souder to run in November, there’s not much point in putting up any advertising.
But if Democrat Tom Hayhurst is able to get some traction while the Republicans work to field a candidate, the national organizations may see fit to invest some surprise money here in the fall.
