WASHINGTON — At least two Republicans in the House of Representatives say they will return money to Rep. Tom DeLay's political action committee now that the former majority leader has been indicted for allegedly conspiring to violate Texas campaign fundraising laws.

Reps. Jeb Bradley of New Hampshire and Heather Wilson of New Mexico said they would return contributions from Americans for a Republican Majority, the political action committee DeLay started to help elect GOP candidates to Congress. Known as ARMPAC, it is separate from Texans for a Republican Majority, or TRMPAC, which is at the center of the charge against DeLay.

ARMPAC, which has not been charged with wrongdoing, has given nearly $3.5 million to House and Senate candidates since 1998, according to the non-profit Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign cash. It has contributed $250,000 to candidates running for re-election next year.

Bradley, in his second term, was the first to renounce DeLay's money. He said he's returning $15,000 contributed in 2002 and 2004 to "remove any questions that may arise about contributions."

Wilson's campaign committee will give back $10,000 contributed for her 2006 campaign. She isn't returning nearly $38,000 she's received since 1998.

Most other House Republicans are watching polls on DeLay very carefully, said Norm Ornstein, a congressional expert at the American Enterprise Institute. "They are all nervous as hell and don't want to break ranks — yet," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said DeLay's indictment was the latest example of a GOP "culture of corruption."

She and other Democrats hope DeLay's legal problems, a federal investigation into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's stock sale and President Bush's sagging poll numbers will combine into a perfect storm to help them regain control of Congress.

Within hours of DeLay's indictment, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a 2006 fundraising e-mail about it. The National Republican Congressional Committee accused Democrats of hypocrisy, noting that DCCC head Rahm Emanuel of Illinois said he wouldn't return $5,000 in political contributions from Chicago lawyer Joseph Cari unless he pleaded guilty to extortion. Cari, a former party finance director, pleaded guilty Sept. 14 of participating in a scheme to direct state pension money to businesses in exchange for campaign cash. Emanuel said he gave the $5,000 to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Republicans "have to answer to their voters for why they think that Tom DeLay's contributions are so important that they refused to part with them," DCCC spokesman Bill Burton said.

Republican strategist Frank Luntz reminded a group of House members Thursday, "You owe (DeLay) your majority. He's where he is today because he sacrificed himself to gain those extra seats."

Luntz said, "You dance with the one that brought you," adding that making refunds is "ridiculous."

Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, a New York moderate, received $5,000 last year to beat a conservative primary challenger. "I haven't given it a second thought," he said about giving the money back. "It was legally raised and legally dispensed."

"Everyone has to do what they think is best for their political future," said Rep. Henry Bonilla, a Texan who's received nearly $24,000 since 1994. "If you're afraid of keeping Tom DeLay's PAC money, you're probably afraid of your own shadow."

It's unclear whether DeLay's indictment will taint Republicans next year. A USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll in April found that 38% had an unfavorable opinion about DeLay. But nearly as many, 35%, had never heard of him or had no opinion of the then-majority leader.

Voters don't need to know who DeLay is for Democrats to make gains in 2006, Dartmouth University political scientist Linda Fowler said. "The only message they need to know is that their member of Congress took money from somebody who's in trouble legally."

Contributing: Jill Lawrence and Richard Wolf

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