Rep. Nick Lampson (D), facing a tough re-election battle in the conservative 22nd district, is attempting to link his Republican challenger to former Rep. Tom DeLay (R), who held the suburban Houston seat until he resigned amid scandal in June 2006.

In an e-mail fundraising appeal to supporters sent out this week, Lampson campaign official Trevor Kincaid accuses former Senate aide Pete Olson (R) of embracing “DeLay style politics of lie, lie, and lie some more.”

The e-mail includes head shots of DeLay and Olson side by side. Both the Lampson campaign and Texas Democrats have moved in recent days to tie the two Republicans together by pointing out that the Olson campaign employs consultants who previously worked for DeLay.

“Please give $10 or more to help broadcast Congressman Lampson’s record of fighting for you and push back against the Olson smear machine,” Kincaid writes in the e-mail appeal.

Meanwhile, the Olson campaign unveiled a new Web site, NicksDCTricks.com, to draw attention to what it characterizes as “Lampson’s records of voting against American families.”

In 2006, Lampson won the 22nd district contest over a Republican who was running as a write-in. Republicans believe Lampson never would have won the solidly GOP seat had he not run against a write-in, and they are working hard to paint Lampson as politically out of step with the district’s voters.

“Nick Lampson has been part of the problem in Washington, D.C. that Americans hate — saying one thing in the district and doing another in Washington,” Olson said in a statement about the new Web site.

The Olson campaign is also criticizing Lampson for deciding not to participate in a Congressional debate in Fort Bend County scheduled for Oct. 20.