ABC News reported Monday morning that freshman Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) paid more than $120,000 in hush money to a former mistress and arranged for her to have a job at a political consulting firm.

The timing of the Mahoney news leaves Democrats in exactly the same position Republicans were in with Foley: too close to the election to get a ballot replacement.

Jennifer Davis, a spokeswoman with the Florida Department of State, said there was no way for Democrats to put a new candidate on the ballot, but that they could run another candidate under Mahoney’s name, as Republicans did with Foley in 2006.

State Rep. Joe Negron (R) lost to Mahoney, 50-48.

“They are already printed, and a lot of the absentees are already back — are voted,” Davis said. “So, it’s too late.”

Mahoney’s reelection campaign was already considered one of the toughest in the country, as he represents a conservative-leaning district, and Monday’s news should make it even tougher for Mahoney or whatever replacement Democrats might choose.

It’s not clear whether Mahoney will fight to try to keep his seat. His office declined to comment Monday.

Mahoney did hint early in his tenure that he wasn’t crazy about serving in Congress, telling The Hill in May 2007 that it “isn’t the greatest job I’ve had.”

Members of Congress who have been embroiled in sex scandals have sometimes proven resilient, including Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who was implicated in the D.C. Madam prostitution scandal last year and appears to have recovered politically.

But Vitter isn’t up for reelection until 2010, giving him plenty of time to rehabilitate his image. Mahoney has three weeks to do so.

If he were to resign, it would come in the same cycle as two Republicans — Rep. Vito Fossella (N.Y.) and Sen. Larry Craig (Idaho) — were forced into retirement thanks to sex scandals.

Fossella was discovered, after he was arrested for driving drunk, to have had a child with a mistress, and Craig pleaded guilty to soliciting sex in an airport bathroom.

Mahoney received one of the biggest endorsements in his reelection campaign Sunday when the Palm Beach Post backed him.

The newspaper praised his financial know-how and said, “The very unlikely winner in 2006 very much deserves to be reelected in 2008.”

The Post also reported Sunday that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was scaling back on its $1 million in reserved TV advertising time.

Mahoney’s GOP opponent, attorney Tom Rooney, emerged from a tough three-way primary in August and faces a significant cash disadvantage.

Rooney’s campaign released a poll in September showing Mahoney leading, 48-41.

The challenger’s spokesman declined to comment Monday afternoon, but Rooney will hold a press conference with NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) on Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. EST.