# Tom DeLay Tom DeLay (born 1947) is a former Republican congressman from Texas's 22nd district who rose to House Majority Leader and earned the nickname "The Hammer" for his enforcement of party discipline and hardball tactics. He was the driving force behind the [[2003 Texas Redistricting]], the norm-breaking mid-decade re-mapping that flipped six U.S. House seats to the [[Republican Party]] in 2004. DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) helped capture the Texas statehouse in 2002, enabling the redistricting. In 2005 he was indicted on conspiracy and money-laundering charges tied to TRMPAC; he was convicted in 2010, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2013. DeLay is a signature figure in the Texas tradition of pioneering aggressive tactics later adopted nationally. ## See Also - [[2003 Texas Redistricting]] - [[Gerrymandering]] - [[Republican Party]] - [[Texas History Hub]]