A coalition of conservative and moderate Republican lawmakers launched a revolt Friday against Rep. Tom DeLay, petitioning for a House GOP leadership election that would block the Texan's hope of reclaiming the post of majority leader.

The move indicated how quickly DeLay's broad and deep support among Republicans had collapsed following this week's guilty pleas by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, once a close DeLay associate, in a federal probe into possible congressional corruption. DeLay is believed to be one of several lawmakers whose ties to Abramoff are being scrutinized by a federal task force.

Several Republicans expressed dismay that DeLay did not give up his quest for his former post before the petition for the leadership election began circulating among his GOP colleagues. Collecting 50 signatures on the petition is the first step to scheduling such an election.

DeLay stepped down as House majority leader after a Texas grand jury indicted him on charges of violating state campaign finance laws. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) was named his temporary successor — a move designed to give DeLay time to clear himself of the charges and win back his job shortly after Congress reconvenes Jan. 31.

DeLay, a chief architect of the Republican House majority and widely viewed for years as one of Congress' most influential members, has given no sign of abandoning his plan.

But pressure on him to do so has mounted within the GOP since Abramoff — who had forged strong financial and political links with him — entered guilty pleas to various felonies in federal courts in Washington and Miami.

"I think it is a smart move for Tom DeLay to see the writing on the wall and, for everyone's benefit, to withdraw himself so he can regroup at a later time and make a comeback," a senior Republican congressional aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the political sensitivity of the situation. "It is the statesman-like thing to do."

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), DeLay's longtime political ally and friend, offered no public display of support to the beleaguered former majority leader Friday.

Ron Bonjean, Hastert's spokesman, would say only that the call for a new leadership election "is consistent with the speaker's announcement" this fall that only a temporary leadership structure was put in place after DeLay's indictment "and the matter would be revisited at the beginning" of 2006.

DeLay was in Laredo, Texas, on Friday with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff discussing border security issues with local officials, said Kevin Madden, a spokesman for DeLay.

"Mr. DeLay appreciates that a majority of his colleagues recognize he remains committed to fulfilling his responsibilities as majority leader as soon as he is exonerated in Texas," Madden said in a statement. "He recognizes their commitment to a positive agenda and their shared desire to achieve it. Mr. DeLay is not focused on speculation or insinuations."

The charges against DeLay in Texas stem from out-of-state donations to seven GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature in 2002.

Prosecutors contend that he schemed to funnel $190,000 in corporate contributions through the Republican National Committee in Washington and then back to the Texas candidates. Under Texas law, corporate money cannot be used directly in political campaigns.

House Republican rules required DeLay to give up his leadership post when he was indicted.

DeLay, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, has been unable to obtain a speedy trial. Although that has caused concern among some House Republicans, the push for the leadership election was sparked largely by Abramoff's back-to-back court appearances this week.

The crimes he pleaded guilty to included bilking about $20 million from Indian tribes he represented, attempting to buy favors for these and other clients on Capitol Hill, and tax evasion. He also agreed to cooperate with a Justice Department probe into influence peddling on Capitol Hill that has cast a cloud of suspicion over several lawmakers — including DeLay — and current and former aides on Capitol Hill.

Although Abramoff cajoled his clients to donate to both parties, the former lobbyist was a longtime GOP activist whose main contacts were with Republicans.

Many GOP lawmakers have said they fear the scandal would fuel Democratic charges that the GOP has fostered a "culture of corruption" during its years of controlling the House, Senate and the presidency. Such concerns have transformed DeLay from a consummate political operative into a potential liability.

Opposition to DeLay's potential return as majority leader has united some conservative and moderate House Republicans who normally are at loggerheads over policy issues.

"Neither group wanted to be out there by themselves" calling for DeLay to relinquish his bid to regain his former job, said a second Republican congressional aide who also requested anonymity when discussing the leadership issue.

The aide said that there was a "flurry of conference calls" in recent days among House Republicans scattered across the globe, and that support grew quickly to send a signal to DeLay that he must give up his leadership bid.

Under House GOP rules, scheduling a leadership election first requires 50 Republicans in the chamber to sign a petition requesting such a vote. The election then would be set if a majority of House Republicans — currently numbering 231 — support the effort.

In an interview with The Times on Thursday, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a conservative, said he was prepared to sign such a petition but would not circulate it.

But Flake and Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.), a moderate, began circulating a petition Friday morning, after Bass told DeLay they would seek the election.

"I can confirm that they have approximately two dozen commitments for signatures at this point, and they just began making calls earlier today," said Alissa Southworth, Bass's press secretary. "Mr. Bass told Tom DeLay to his face that he was going to do this."

One signatory, Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River), said the party needed to move beyond the era of DeLay's leadership.

"We have to confront the facts as we find them, the facts of an ongoing investigation of Jack Abramoff and his group…. We have to deal with it straightforwardly as a party," Lungren said. "One of the things we have to do is to get our leadership house in order and move on."

It is no longer good enough, Lungren said, for the party to have a temporary leadership structure. "The real question right now is: How do we show the American people we know how to be a majority party?" he said.

Lungren, a former prosecutor, said he decided to support a leadership election after talking to people in his district and to Republicans outside Congress whom he said expressed shock about the Abramoff scandal.

"I've heard disappointment more than anything else," Lungren said. "There is an undercurrent that things have gotten out of sorts."

DeLay, who for years cultivated support among Republicans by helping collect contributions for their campaigns and attending to needs in their districts, still has supporters.

"I'm not going to sign the petition," Rep. Michael K. Conaway (R-Texas) said. "I don't think leadership elections right now are in the best interest of everything that is going on."

Conaway said he believed an election would further divide the party.

Echoing a claim DeLay has made, Conaway said he viewed his fellow Texan as a victim of "a rogue" district attorney in the state — Democrat Ronald D. Earle, who has pressed the case against DeLay. If DeLay gives up his bid to reclaim his leadership post, "that just means Ronnie Earle wins," Conaway said. "We ought to do the right thing with Tom DeLay."

Burson Taylor, a spokeswoman for Blunt, said the temporary majority leader "would like to see Mr. DeLay return as leader after beating these politically motivated and baseless charges, and he is confident that would be the best outcome" for House Republicans.

Blunt is expected to run for the post if the election is held in coming weeks. But, Taylor said, "Mr. Blunt has not launched a bid for leader. He is not calling members or rounding up votes. Rather, he is in Missouri." She said Blunt would join Hastert on Monday on a two-week trip to Asia and the Middle East.

Others considered possible candidates for the job include Reps. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps GOP House candidates.

Some Democrats have criticized the move for a leadership election.

"After years of benefiting from Tom DeLay's culture of corruption, Republicans are trying to make it look like they are coming clean," said Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). "The reality is that a leadership election won't whitewash the fact that congressional Republicans have created the most corrupt Congress in history and the American people are paying the price."