Texas Republicans will hold a "summit" meeting today in Houston to try to settle on a single write-in candidate in their desperate attempt to save the House seat of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Mr. DeLay dropped out of the race after winning the March primary, and a federal court ruled the local GOP could not replace him. That leaves the party's line on the ballot blank.

The GOP now faces the arduous task of running a write-in candidate against former Rep. Nick Lampson, a Democrat who once represented part of the Houston-area district. Mr. Lampson has more than $2 million in his campaign kitty and is considered the defacto front-runner in a conservative district that gave President Bush over 64% of its vote in 2004.

The estimated 150 precinct officials who will gather for today's closed-door meeting are debating the virtues of various candidates, including Sugar Bend Mayor David Wallace. But there is another option. Libertarian Bob Smither, an electrical engineer who is well known through his work with a child-welfare foundation, is the only name other than Mr. Lampson's on the ballot and he has announced that if elected he will vote for a Republican for House Speaker. That could be meaningful if Republicans lose enough House seats this fall that control of the House hinges on a single seat. Why not throw their backing behind Mr. Smither, much as moderate Democrats in Connecticut are supporting Joe Lieberman?

Dick Murray, a University of Houston political analyst, says that Mr. Smither could pull 12% to 14% of the vote even if he gets no significant backing, making a write-in campaign for an alternative candidate all the more difficult for Republicans.

Some Republicans think the party should simply back Mr. Smither. "I'm not convinced a write-in will succeed," says Jerry Patterson, a Texas Land Office commissioner. "We should seriously consider supporting Bob Smither. Nick Lampson could be the one vote that elects Nancy Pelosi as Speaker." Another prominent Republican from out of state endorsed Mr. Smither yesterday. Bob Barr, the former Georgia congressman who served as a House manager during the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, says Mr. Smither might be an improvement over the write-in alternatives: "I don't see him going to Washington and voting for bigger government the way so many Republicans have done."

The district has proven in the past that it's a fertile political ground for libertarian-oriented Republicans. Back in the 1980s, the district elected Ron Paul, a free-market Republican, who later went on to become the 1988 Libertarian presidential candidate. Mr. Paul staged a political comeback in 1996, and now represents a neighboring district as a Republican. Indeed, Mr. Smither has been holding talks with Mr. Paul about endorsing the notion of the GOP forming an alliance of convenience with a Libertarian. After all, third-party candidates are in vogue this year in Texas. In the governor's race, entertainer Kinky Friedman and state Comptroller Carole Strayhorn are each polling close to 20% of the vote in their bids to topple GOP incumbent Rick Perry.