Mr. Foley, 52, resigned from the House of Representatives last month after the release of sexually explicit messages he had sent to teenage Congressional pages.

Critics said it documented negligence by the Republican leadership in monitoring Mr. Foley's contacts with teenage pages yet failed to recommend punishment for any of those involved.

The seat became vacant after Foley's sudden resignation on September 29, 2006, after it became public that he had sent inappropriate emails to male teenage former congressional pages.

Mr. Foley, 52, resigned on Sept. 29 after the release of sexually graphic messages he had sent to teenage Congressional pages.

The first is a congressman who befriended teenage pages.

In 1970, his characters first appeared as a weekly panel, Rapping Around, on the teenage page of the Elyria Chronicle Telegram.

Some members of the speaker's staff had been aware for at least a year - and others possibly longer - about Mr. Foley's attention toward the teenage pages.

Seventy-nine percent of respondents said House Republican leaders were more concerned about their political standing than about the safety of teenage Congressional pages.

And many conservatives blame Representative Mark Foley's sexual messages to teenage pages.